One Cold Summer
by fiercegrace11
Summary: Modern: Elizabeth is a lawyer who has to live with the mistake she did when she was 18, now she crosses paths with the accomplice to this mistake and has to hide the consequences of that day from him
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE**

I pull up my hoodie to cover my face, who knew England would be this cold in summer, I certainly didn't

It's been 2 days since I arrived in England for summer vacation, in a month I will be attending Harvard for their law program in a few years I will graduate and be a lawyer, my whole body tingles for anticipation. But for now I'm just an 18 year old American walking the streets of England.

I invited Aunt Gardnier to come walking with me today but she declined saying she couldn't take my cousins out in this cold, now I see why she looked at me like if I was crazy when I went outside in only a hoodie.

Stupid England weather

It was actually my father's idea for me to spend some weeks in England for my vacation. I would have loved to go somewhere else, another country where I could appreciate nature more instead of a crowded city that is London. But I would spend less money here since I wouldn't have to pay a hotel since I could stay with my aunt and uncle in there house.

My phone vibrates in my pants and I have to do my little dance to try to take my phone from my pocket

Stupid pockets, I don't get why women jeans should have almost nonexistent pockets they can barely fit lint! While men jeans can fit everything! It's like a freaken Pandora box!

Life is so unfair

People are looking at me like if I just came out of the crazy house. I don't care if they think crazy just because I'm doing my little dance in the middle of a crowded street

I turn my head and hiss at them, they look at me scarred and scamper off

Good!

I'm finally able to get my phone and answer it "Lizzy!" and excited sweet voice says from the phone

My mood just went from low to high, just hearing my sister's voice from the other side can get me in a better mood. Many people would think me and her wouldn't get along since she's the pretty one and I'm not and my mother Is always praising Jane and telling me to be more like her, but no I love Jane she's to sweet to hate

Really it would be better if she was mean and so easily hattable but no Jane's not like that; she's the type to cry if she sees a dead animal in the street

She's so nice it's disgusting

"Hi Jane! How's Nigeria?" I ask as I run through the streets trying to find a place where I can hide from the cold

"It's great!" she says sweetly as she tells me all about her patients and the children in Nigeria. Like I said Jane is the nicest person out there, she's a med student currently serving in the Peace Corps in Nigeria. And I repeat that women is to nice

I find a Starbucks and I quickly enter

"Hey Jane do you think I can call you later I'm about to order something" I say quickly

"Oh my god I'm so sorry Lizzy I didn't know you were busy, will you forgive me?" she says quietly

I laugh at that, typical Jane. I quickly say my good byes to her and hang up. Starbucks is packed there's absolutely no free tables I have no idea where I'm going to sit, but ill jump that bridge whenever I get there. I look at the menu for some minutes even though I already know everything they serve and I will always order the same thing

I go to the cashier and order a hot chocolate, I hate coffee the taste is to bitter for me even if I fill it up with sugar and milk

I grab my hot chocolate and scan everywhere but find no free tables, "well I guess I'm going to have to share" I murmur under my breath a guy hears me and smiles and points to his table, he looks about 40 and has a creepy smile and to top it all off he is only starring at my chest

"Not even in your wet dreams! I'd rather lick Chewbacca's feet then sit beside you" I say harshly and scan the room again, I finally spot a 2 person table in the corner and only a guy who looks like his in his mid-twenties is sitting there only starring at his coffee

"Well girls I hope he doesn't have a fascination with you too" I whisper down at my boobs as I head to the corner table, as I get closer I can see that the guy has black midnight hair and is dressed in a three piece suit, probably works in an office I think. I can't see his face properly since his looking down

"Hey do you think I can sit here since there's nowhere else I can sit" I ask quickly "I mean there is other tables I can share but between you and me you're the lesser of the two evils" I say looking back at the 40 year old creeper I shiver at the thought of sitting beside that man

The man in question looks up and his eyes take my breath away. There the most beautiful piercing blue eyes I have ever seen, there such clear blue that I want to jump in them and swim in them forever. I have never seen a color so breathtaking and beautiful in someone's eyes. Such an icy blue. They must be fake

"Dude are you wearing contacts? You are aren't you?" I blurt out, and immdeiatly I want to take it back

Stupid stupid stupid I repeat to myself. I seriously need to buy a brain filter. I wonder if I can find one in eBay

I take a seat in front of him not waiting for him consent for me to share the table with him

"Excuse me?" he asks startled. Awe his English he has such a beautiful accent

"Your eyes" I say pointing to his eyes "there contacts"

He looks confused as he looks around the coffee shop "is this some kind of a joke? Ok where's Charlie? Come out here you bloody prankster" he says standing up

I grab his shoulder and push him down "no this isn't a joke" I say he still looks skeptically at me "geesh dude paranoid much? Omg I was just wondering" I say trying to calm him down, he finally takes his seat again

"Dude? Omg?" he asks with a grin in his face

I scrunch my eyebrows noticing his teasing me

That bastard

I shrug my shoulders "I'm American I can't help the way I talk" I grab my hot chocolate and take a sip ignoring the looks the English guy is giving me. His cute I'll give him that, it's rare I meet a guy with that dark of hair and those clear eyes; he has some pretty good genes

"What part of you from? Girl from America?"

I raise my eyebrows at this "girl from America?"

"well I don't know your name yet" he gives me a shy smile and It seems like this is the most adventurous his been, like if he hardly ever asks a girl what her name is by the way he looks at me, and that's when I notice his a very shy person, how did I not notice this before? The way his shifting in his seat a sign that his nervous or the way he keeps looking at me and then down at his coffee a sign that his not use to talking to strangers.

"Elizabeth" I say extending my hand for a shake, he grabs my hand and shakes it, he has a hard grip a sign that he shakes hands a lot, maybe job related?

"Do you have a last name Elizabeth?"

I shake my head "my mother always warned me to talking to strangers" I respond " for all I know you can be an assassin or a thief, so it's better if you don't know my last name with that kind of information you can steal my social security number, and then where would I be without an identity?" I say teasing him "and just so you know" I say raising a little from my chair to get closer to him "if you even offer me a candy I will run from here" I whisper

He looks up at me confused but then he notices my playful eyes and he starts laughing, he has a very rich laugh but as his laughing I notice he doesn't have the wrinkles that people have when they laugh a lot making me believe that he doesn't laugh quite often

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Elizabeth from?..."

"Manhattan"

He nods at this

He smiles at me and finally says "I'm William"

Little did Elizabeth know that this encounter would change her life forever

Authors note: I'll try to update every week but if you leave a review that might encourage me to update earlier. So please review! I give out virtual cake!


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHORS NOTE: So I updated before the week because I just love you guys! Thank you to all who reviewed favorite and followed. Also because I'm sick with the flu and had to stay home today so I decided to be productive an update **

**Like always Pride and Prejudice belongs to Jane Austen If I was Austen I would love to say I would be filthy rich right now but the most probable is that I would be dead **

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**Present time**

It it's a truth universally acknowledged that a man cutting a line is in want of a damn black eye

"Excuse me sir" I say sweetly to the man in front of me tapping on his well-defined shoulders, he has a broad back from what I can tell and looks like he just came from running in the park, he turns around and looks down at me as he takes off his earphones apparently he was listening to Bach

What an ass

Who listens to classical music when they run? Oh yeah conceited pompous asses like this one

"Do you see that?" I say in the sweetest voice I could muster I point to the line behind me "That's called a damn line you ignorant pig headed brute!" I yell at him

He steps aside and looks over my shoulder

"Yes it appears it is" he says with a bored tone

He has a beautiful English accent

I hate him

The man who really must be an ape in disguise because honestly no proper men could have manners like his, puts his earphones back on and resumes whatever he was doing

The nerve of this guy!

I want to kick his skinny chicken legs to Russia

Yeah Russia not china, the Chinese would be too nice; the Russians can torture his sorry ass deep in the freezing mountains of the Himalaya's

Are the Himalaya's in Russia? No Elizabeth don't get distracted, you hate this jerk

I seriously want to stab this man with a spoon!

Yes a spoon, not knife

A spoon would make it more slow and painful!

"Excuse me" I say tapping his shoulder again but this time making it more painful for him with every poke I give him

He turns around clearly exasperated He tightens his lips in a tight line if I could see his eyes underneath his sunglasses and baseball hat I bet he would be giving me the stink eye

"I don't know if you failed math you asshole but this is a line not a square or a circle it's a damn line! So clearly you can't cut a line you have to start in the back so if you can please move your skinny little butt to the back that would be deeply appreciated" I say trying to lower my voice as I see we have gotten a crowd around where were at- beside the stand selling hot dogs in the middle of the park- runners and bikers have stopped to see our little show

"Calm down _princess_ no one is attacking you" he demands

"Oh I'll show you _princess _you buffoon" I start to take my heels off "here hold my heels" I say handing them to charlotte who has been oblivious till now to what's happening and has been too distracted in her phone

"Why are you taking your shoes off you demented leprechaun?"

"So it will be easier for me to kick your ass you stiff prick!" I shout, I was about to pounce on him with nails and everything when charlotte grabbed my wrist

"Lizzy honey you can't go around attacking people remember what happened last time?"

"Oh that's just great I'm dealing with a _legally_ insane person"

I glared at him "oh if you want me to show you what happened last time I gladly will" I replied sweetly while pushing the sleeves up my suit ready to run sack him like a bull but charlotte was still holding on to my wrist so I only could flail around my fist at him

He only smirked

"Oh ill wipe that smirk right off of your ugly disfigured face"

He turned to charlotte and addressed her

"Please keep your little_ Chihuahua_ with a leash I don't know if she's had her shots already" he said giving me a once glance over "oh and also make sure to put a _beware of the dog_ sign wherever she lives"

"Are you comparing me to a dog you sick bastard?"

"No I'm implying you're a dog that's different"

"Why you little-"I say stepping towards him

"Lizzy that's enough, do what the psychologist said to do whenever you get mad just breathe"

I ignore charlotte and just stare at sunglasses "get to the back of the line" I grit through my teeth

"I was here first Pocahontas"

"Did he just call me Pocahontas?" I ask charlotte but she's just hiding her head with her hand completely embarrassed by what's happening

"Oh I'm sorry" he says "your right you look nothing like Pocahontas, she was waaayyy prettier!" he shouts

This bastard just insulted my looks

"Oh you want to see pretty? I'll show you what pretty looks like when I give you a pretty good beating!"

"Calm down Lizzy" charlotte whispers to me

"No you weren't" I grit through my teeth responding to his statement that he was here first

"Are you saying I'm lying?"

"No I'm implying that you're not saying the truth that's different" I say in an English accent throwing back the words he used with me

He crosses his arms over his chest "no I won't move" he moves his legs so he is standing firmly in the ground giving the illusion that his like a brick house: unmovable, but I've never backed out of a fight that's why I'm a lawyer.

"You know you're the reason why people think we evolved from the ape you narcissistic ignorant animal! No, what am I saying, poor ape shouldn't be compared to a jerk like you, there _way_ more evolved then you!" I shout

"I'm not going to move" he hisses "it's not my fault you're all hormonal because you have your _period_"

I make a face at that not because I'm in my period but because no men should tell a women there mad because there hormonal

Never ever

But apparently he takes my expression as if what he said was true

"So you are in your period" he laughs at this "women" he mutters under his breath while shaking his head and turning around

"Well you should know when I have my period _Tarzan_ because we have our period at the same time" I say smugly pulling up my sunglasses

The person selling the hot dogs finally notices what was going on and gets in between us

"Listen I'm going to have to tell you both to get out of the line" the man said looking at the people around starring at us

"What!" me and running pants yell

"I don't want any problems" the dark short man said "I'm going to have to tell both of you to not come back here again

"No, no no no no you can't do that! I was going to buy you 20 hot dogs!" I grab the short guy by the shoulders trying to plead with him "I need those hot dogs" I say starring into his eyes trying to make him see that I need those hot dogs really badly "I'll pay you double"

"Triple" I hear English guy baritone voice behind me

I roll my eyes at that, so that's how he wants to play

"Quadruple" I tell the short guy

The hot dog seller just keeps looking at me and then at English guy like if this was some freaking soccer game

"I'm sorry, I can't, you have already disrupted my line, if both of you can please leave now"

"Don't worry Lizzy I'll get you your twenty hot dogs, is that all you wanted?" charlotte whispers in my ear so the hot dog seller wouldn't hear

I try to remember what kind of sodas everyone drinks "one dr. pepper two cokes and one mountain dew" I whisper quickly to charlotte she just nods her head letting me know she heard me and with that I turn on my heel and head to my car

"ugh this is so unfair, this is all your fault Beckham" I tell the English guy walking beside me "I seriously don't know who pissed in your tea to put you in this crappy mood"

But he doesn't respond to me he just keeps on walking

"Jackass" I mutter

This makes him turn around "what did you say you psychotic elf?"

"I said jackass j.a.c.k.a.s.s or let me guess you're ignorant and also illiterate."

"I can read!" he exclaims

"We'll read this" I say flipping him off with my middle finger and walking away from him

I hear him mutter something under his breath something like 'rich' but I know very well that that's not what he said

I turn around angry more angry then hulk in the avengers movie I know my face must be red from how mad I am

"you know I'm going to be the better person here, and act like an adult" I say sweetly and courtesy like if I was in some Victorian era movie I open my mouth and say in an English accent "may your balls be cursed with the fleas of a million camels and stray dogs" and with that I walk away from him not caring how he will react to that

I get into my car and head to my parents' house, today has just got from bad to worse and I know getting to my parents' house will go from worse to horrible

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**AUTHORS NOTE: thanks to the people who told me about the misspelled words I'm going to go back and correct them, I really appreciate it. Please review and tell me who you think was this guy Lizzie just met. And if I get enough reviews I'll try and update tomorrow since I'm stuck at home with this fever I'm running. God I hate the flu**

**P.s also comment why you think lizzie wanted so many hot dogs I already have an idea why but if I like your idea better I might use it {I'll give you credit of course to whoever's idea I pick} I love you guys!and as always I'm giving out virtual quesadillas this time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ok so I couldn't update Saturday like I said because I was soooo sick, my fever was up to 104®**

**I really hate having the flu **

**But anyways I love you guys so much! And thanks to the people who reviewed favorite and followed you all receive virtual quesadillas!**

**Like always pride and prejudice does not belong to me it belongs to the beautiful Jane Austen, I really don't know how Jane Austen looks like but I bet she was beautiful if she looked like Anne Hathaway in the movie just Jane (I think that was the movie, correct me if I'm wrong or is it becoming Jane?)**

* * *

I examine my knuckles, there turning a pale purple color from gripping the steering wheel so tight. I don't know how long I've been sitting here in my car outside my parents' house. It could be seconds, minutes, hours. It all feels the same for me right now as I examine my life that led me up to this point right now

This will be the second time I will see my parents this week after 10 years of my absence from here, and not even once in those ten years did I call or see them.

I'm a horrible daughter

But I had my reasons for not seeing them and my mother really didn't want to see me in those ten years. I know my father must have wanted to see me but he never made an effort to look for I made no effort to see him, as much as it pained me. He was ashamed of me; I had disappointed him, his favorite daughter ruining her life

So here I am, outside my childhood house to afraid to enter to see the disappointed eyes of my father and my mother's disapproving face

last time I was here I was an 18 year old girl with big dreams and a big mouth now I'm a 28 year old women who still has dreams but those dreams aren't for me now but for some other people. I accomplished my dream of becoming a lawyer after many hardships but I'm here, and for that I'm proud

I'm here in Manhattan, my home

I'm brought back from my thoughts when I hear a small tap in my window

Charlotte, she's carrying a bag filled with hot dogs and sodas

I give her a small wave and smile, she motions me to come outside so I do, carefully closing my door trying to make no sound to let my mother know I'm home, even though that's crazy since she must of heard my car pulling up in the driveway

"What was all that about?" charlotte asks me once she's handed me my food

"Well I didn't want my mother to know I was here, I need some more minutes to breath" I answer back

"No, not that, I'm talking about you going crazy on the poor guy from the hot dog stand" she says

I stop what I was doing of counting the hotdogs, I can hear with her tone of voice that she's not going to let me go easily

I sigh, not looking at her when I answer quietly

"He was British"

She doesn't say anything and for that I thank charlotte, with that three worded explanation she knows why I reacted like I did

"I'm sorry" charlotte whispers "I didn't mean to remind you"

I shrug "it's not like I don't get reminded every day of my life"

I look up at her and she gives me a small smile reassuring me that everything is going to be okay. I hear a car pulling up in the driveway and a big smile gets splattered in my face. It's Mary the middle sister of the five daughters my parents had

After Jane, Mary is one of my favorite sisters. She's quite and I think she's in a satanic cult by the way she dresses with black clothes and she has short black hair just barley brushing her shoulders. You wouldn't know it by looking at her but she has to be one of the smartest persons I know, always reading and looking for knowledge.

She's 24, four years younger than me but way more mature then many people her age. I think about how She Jane and charlotte have been a blessing for me these past ten years. When I left my parents' house ten years ago, Jane came back from Nigeria just to be with me and attend the same university with me just to help me out and so did charlotte. I couldn't imagine better friends, I took night classes while Jane took morning and charlotte took afternoon classes we all worked different shifts. And they did that all so they could help me

And for that I will never be able to pay them back

Mary graduated high school early at age 16, she was a child prodigy, she could have chosen any school to attend but she chose my school so she could live with me charlotte and Jane so she could help me

All three of them have been a true help

Mary gets down from her car and I get to see my little sister

She's wearing a black plaid shirt with black jeans and a ton of bracelets in her arms, she sees me and nods. It's very hard getting any emotional reaction from Mary, but I know she loves me. Because no one would do what she did for me if you didn't love that person

I look around Mary to see the only thing that will make me smile even in the hardest of days, the only thing that keeps me going, the only reason that I work as hard as I do

Then I see it, midnight black hair and icy blue eyes

My children

David is looking at the house behind me with curious emerald green eyes, I know what he must thinking that my parents his grandparents are rich, but were not, not compared to the rest of the people who live in this area. Even though my mother likes to imagine that we are rich. My father is just a professor in a university he inherited this house from his parents. David's mouth then turns into a mischief smile

I shake my head, whatever he has planned will never be permitted, but he keeps his smile and his eyes light up in humor. He has something planned that much I can tell.

James has his usual stoic face he has whenever his going somewhere he doesn't know to meet people who are strangers. His nose is pink from the cold and even from here I can see his freckles sprinkled in top of his nose and cheeks. His black hair getting blown left and right by the wind.

He needs a haircut

He squints his blue eyes at me clearly trying to tell me he is not pleased by these arrangements.

My eyes look for my baby, the last one of my triplets; I spot her still in the car not even noticing the car has stopped moving. Her blue eyes scanning fervently the book she's reading. Knowing her the book must be something about physics or some thesis of a scholar. She pulls up her glasses and keeps on reading

My children there my life, I don't know what I would do without them. When I first learned I was pregnant I panicked I didn't know what I would, I actually decided to put them up for adoption I even did the paperwork and everything I even met up with a nice couple who was willing to keep all three.

I will never forget the look my parents gave me when I told them I was pregnant. The disappointment, my mother screamed and told me I was going to be the death of her. She told me to abort them, but I couldn't, I wouldn't. She told me how embarrassing it would be for her that all the neighbors would know she has a teenage daughter who got pregnant and from a guy who she didn't even know the last name of. I told her I wouldn't abort them, so she told me to leave so I did. And what hurt me the most is that my father didn't stop me he just locked himself in his office

After I left and got into Harvard with a scholarship I knew I had two decisions keep the babies or put them in adoption, I knew I wouldn't be able to do it alone, I wouldn't be able to give them a good life, so I put them up for adoption. Jane, charlotte and Mary where there when I gave birth.

They were triplets

The nurse told me it was rare to have triplets naturally, that it was a miracle. And then she handed me my children even though I cried and begged them not to show me the babies that I didn't want to see them didn't want to know how they looked. But Jane convinced me otherwise that I would always ask myself how they looked or if they were boys or girls. So I held them, all three and I saw there black hair and clear blue eyes in all accept my middle child who had bright green eyes, which I don't know who he inherit from.

They looked exactly like their father. I cried like I had never cried before they looked like their father but they were mine. Then the nurse came in with the adoption papers, but I couldn't sign them, they were mine and I was there's and no one would separate us.

Jane and charlotte told me they would help me. So that's when we planned a schedule so the babies would never be alone and would always have one of us three taking care of them. I studied at nights and worked in the mornings in the afternoons I took care of my children. It was very difficult for the first year but it all became easier when charlotte graduated the year after and Mary moved in to help us.

I studied hard and worked hard to give my children a good future

And that's how I ended up being in front of my parents' house. It came to a surprise to me when they called me a month ago while I was living in Atlanta and told me they wanted to see me. I didn't want to see them I was still very hurt for what had happened the last time but Jane, Mary and charlotte had moved recently to Manhattan so that's why I decided to move back.

I had already been offered a job in a law firm here in Manhattan so a job wasn't the issue. I had seen my parents 3 days ago when we tried to talk things out, but I was here today to introduce them to their grandchildren who they had never met

"Ok I can do this" I whisper to myself "everyone please be in your best behavior" I said addressing the triplets but looking pointedly at David "especially you David"

He gave me one of his famous smiles, which I swear I have no idea who he inherited from since his father never smiled "who me?" he says acting hurt "I would never be bad, mother this is a lie to my nature!" he says stomping

I raise my eyebrow at this; he crosses his arms and looks at me "I have food"

He grins at this "dang women you know me so well!" as he comes and grabs the bag from my hand a takes a bite from a hot dog "you should of started with 'I have food' instead of giving us that sermon"

"That wasn't a sermon David a sermon is an often lengthy and tedious speech of reproof or exhortation. That clearly wasn't" olive says never taking her sight away from where she was reading

That's another reason why I moved to Manhattan; here all three of them were accepted to attend a school for the gifted, I want to give the best to them, and it's better that the school is public that way I don't have to pay for it

"You're going to have to share with your brother and sister though" i say as I walk away from them trying to have a time for myself so they don't see how nervous I am, I don't know how my mother will treat them.

"Mom?"

I turn around and see my oldest James rocking back and forth with his heels, his hands tucked in the pocket of his jeans, he looks exactly like his father same hair, same eyes, same personality the only thing that is different is the freckles that are sprinkled in his face but that's not inherited by my side of the family, none of my family members have freckles

When I saw him and Olivia for the first time in the hospital I started to cry because they were the Minnie me's of there father, and when the nurses asked me what to name James I knew I would name him after his father, that's why I named him William James Bennet

I curse myself every day for not asking William his last name that day I met him in the café, at least that way I would be able to locate him, there's not much you can do with a first name, especially when you just google William and a million Williams pop up

I did try to contact William I went back to England when I found out I was pregnant and for a month I went every day to that same café. But he never came back

"Yes honey?" I reply

He shifts uncomfortably; I know he must be nervous of meeting my parents, his a very….unique kid. Charlotte says his anti-social but I know his just shy. David nicknamed him hermit crab.

"Mom I really don't want to go inside" David finally says after minutes of silence "I don't think they will like me"

"Oh honey they will love you" I say cupping his cheek with my hands "what makes you say they won't like you?"

He sighs "because I'm not good at meeting people, I'm not David nor you" his looking at the floor now

I think about what he said, I'm pretty sure my mother will love David and his outgoing personality but I'm pretty sure she won't like James nor Olivia. There quiet and if anyone saw them for the first time they might think that that they come from old money by the way they carry themselves. There really elegant and there face features look like nobility features. So many people consider them stuck up, but there truly not, there just shy, very very shy

"Come on" I say to James extending my hand so he can grab it "let's go meet my parents" he carefully grabs my hand as I call my other two children

David is stuffing as much food as he can in his face as he terrorizes his sister who is hitting him with her book.

But I know that in no time David will be knocked out, sleeping peacefully and quietly in some room, he always does when he eats a lot of hot dogs, that's why I ordered so many, that way I know he will not be acting up and breaking things today

I go and knock at my parents door waiting for the chaos that's about to happen

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**A/N: Ok so I was actually going to make them twins but yesterday I saw in the news that triplets were born naturally, so that inspired me to make them triplets. **

**next chapter we will meet Bingley and Darcy (is that how you spell Bingley, correct me if im wrong)**

**I'll probably update in a week, I hope. Please review because that's what makes me keep writing, if people don't review that just makes me think that everyone hates my story and that just makes me stop writing, if enough people review I might update earlier**

**So please review and follow and favorite. I love you guys!**

**As always this time I'm giving out virtual cupcakes, but I only have green ones, sorry **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: so im updating earlier than a week bc I saw that people actually had an interest in this story and left reviews! I love you people!**

**So I'm gonna answer the reviews, I will divide them in three**

**Team Green Cupcakes (chapter 3)**

**Team Quesadillas (chapter 2)**

**Team Cake (chapter 1)**

**First is ****Team Green Cupcakes**

**Justlovefanfiction2901- ****awe thanks for correcting me , and you're going to learn who the guy in the park was either in this chapter or next I'm still not sure, and no the cupcakes are made of spinach the broccoli is to expensive due to the winter blizzard where having, sorry**

**Pissdoren-**** awe thank you glad someone is enjoying this story **

**Kmart92-**** yeah I didn't see that coming either until I saw the news and decided to make them triplets, and I can't wait to write that scene when she sees Darcy again!**

**Dizzy Lizzy.60- ****I know super sad but at first I was actually going to make them toddlers but I also wanted them to have feelings due to them thinking there father abandoned them all those years ago, I was going to make them teenagers but I thought that would be too sad for Lizzy to be without him all those years. So I made them 10**

**Guest- ****I enjoy your review random citizen lol (tell me if you get from what movie that quote came from of 'random citizen') {to the guest who said "I really enjoy this story")**

**Guest-**** I'm going to write chapter four next! Aka this chapter**

**Saralee-**** awe thanks! You're cute and unique too! And I'm pretty sure when Darcy finds out his head will explode! Lol**

**Maitam- ****tiene tres? Wow eso debe de ser un circo en su casa, son pequeños o ya están grandes? cuando vienen mis primos a visitar yo ya quiero arrancarme mis pelos después de 5 minutos, la admiro mucho, y yo también quiero ver cómo voy a describir la cara de Dary porque no tengo ni idea como se ve más que tiene cabello oscuro y ojos azules, hay y muchas gracias por sus buenos deseos, ya me estoy sintiendo mejor**

**Yes people i know Spanish and i also speak Portuguese and English obviously since I'm American**

**2luv2laff4u- ****I tend to ramble a lot so please tell me whenever I do it again, lol. It's because I talk a lot so I think that transcends to when I write also, and I wanted to make Lizzy different from other stories I always wanted her to speak up to say what was in her mind, I really love strong heroines but tell me if I take her a little overboard, but thanks glad you like the story**

**Worldwarlll- ****well technically they spent more than one day together, I'm going to have to explain that, but tell me if you would want me to write a flashback so that could answer some questions **

**Cutelilmochi- **** well she's mad at Darcy for more than one reason, tell me if I would need to write a flashback to answer that question. But I think maybe in the next 2 chapters the answer if Darcy ever try to find her would be answered. And actually I have no idea who Olivia and David where named after, do you want them to be named after someone? I could do that, I actually randomly picked their names from a baby website and when I say randomly I mean that I closed my eyes and pointed to names, lol **

**Team Quesadillas**

**Camillac****- I will here's another update!**

**writingMage- ****awe thank you so much! Your review made my day!**

**Dizzy Lizzy.60- ****awe thanks it took me a while to make them,lol and ten years have passed since the café to the park **

**Guest- ****i know its her against the world, and you'll find out who the guy from chapter 2 was probably in the next chapter or this one still not sure**

**Guest- ****here's more **

**Sk702- ****yeah I'm trying to make her strong a type of women who doesn't take crap from anyone, but I hope that the last chapter showed why she reacted the way she did**

**Miss lizzie- here's**** more!**

**Team Cake**

**Angelic- ****yeah I'm gonna try to correct those typos **

**Hazy-chan- ****awe thanks for reviewing, I feel nice that I made you come out of review hibernation, lol and glad you liked Lizzie**

**Guest- ****yeap you guessed right she got pregnant, are you a psychic or something?lol except the drop out part**

**Worldwarll- ****awe thank you, you have no idea how much this review meant for me **

* * *

"Why Elizabeth you look absolutely _dreadful_ you should get more meat in your bones" was the first thing my mother said in her southern drawl when she opened the door

That's my mother for you, second time she sees her daughter in ten years and the first thing she tells her is that she's looks _dreadful_

"You are absolutely skinny! You have no boobs no butt, giving birth gives a women a fuller body but it looks like you just got thinner! Your just skin and bones! Did you breastfeed? I hear that makes a person lose weight and even more with you, poor thing breast feeding three at the same time. You have a boy's body! How do you expect to find a man? It's already difficult with you being a single mother, but men like things they can grab, and you sweetie have nothing to grab"

Franny Bennet born and bred in the south a true southern belle, lived in Charleston South Carolina her whole life until she met my father who was visiting the university she was in to give a conference, after that she grabbed on to him like a leech and didn't let him go

She is the reason why people think blondes are stupid

I shouldn't talk bad about my mother she does have her good qualities she loves Jane and Lydia with her whole life and anyone who can see is able to tell that she loves my father profoundly.

But everyone who can see can tell that she is the epitome of vain, shallow and dense. I secretly think she hates me, she always compared me to Jane and Lydia saying how I wasn't pretty enough like Jane or likable enough like Lydia. Even though I still have my doubts about Lydia being likable

The thing about my mother is that she pretends were rich, which were not. And her biggest desire in life is to be rich, since she didn't marry a millionaire or a billionaire her life goal is to marry off her five daughters to rich men

Unfortunately for her all of her five daughters are single

Jane tells me that every day she tells her that she will die without grandbabies, which is absurd since I gave her three. But in my mother's small mind she doesn't have grandchildren, you see she doesn't really want grandchildren what she really wants is something she can brag and show off to the neighbors, she wants to to brag about how her grandbabies are sons or daughters of rich important men.

With mine she can't do that since I'm not married and I had my children when I was a teenager, even though I was out of high school at that time and I was officially an adult since I was 18. Then there's there's the tiny problem that I don't even know where my child's father is at

Plus she thinks the father of the triplets is an unemployed thug

A homeless unemployed thug

I really don't mind her ignoring the triplets since I don't want my children being objects or prizes for my mother which she can show off like if this was some kind of dog show

"come on Elizabeth, get inside the house and bring in my grandbabies!" she squeals tugging my arm so I can step inside my childhood home and trying to see behind me to get a glimpse of her grandkids

"Thomas!" my mother hollers "come down here Lizzie is home!"

My mother has no manners what's so ever, and I think she has a built in mechanism that turns on every time I'm around just so she can embarrass me

"Thomas!" she starts screaming walking up the stairs trying to find my father

Probably hiding in his office like always

"Wow nice house" David says whistling stepping inside the three story house of my parents

I actually thought really hard of coming here especially with bringing David along, I told my mother we could meet in the apartment I'm renting but she said that she wanted her grandbabies to see where I grew up

Knowing my mother she wanted to brag and show them that this would never be theirs, that they would never be heirs to this place, I wouldn't doubt for a second my mother wouldn't tell them that my father would never put them in his will

"Don't touch anything, don't break anything….better yet don't even breath in anything" I whisper to my middle child

David has a tendency to get into trouble, wherever we go he always causes problems it's like if trouble follows him around, plus he has a mouth that no one can shut up and I don't doubt for a minute that if my mother says something offensive David will say something even more offensive

Unfortunately that's just the way he is

The doctor diagnosed him with ADHD and ADD which are just medical terms that mean that he doesn't pay attention and is always causing trouble

But at least I feel better that my son has an excuse to act the way he does

When David was born the first thing he did was look up at me and smile, when charlotte saw this she said he was destined for trouble

She was so right

"It hurts that you doubt me" he replies with a big grin in his face, his bright green eyes dancing with humor "I think you shouldn't worry about me that much and worry more about hermit crab and Nanny McPhee" he says nodding towards Olivia and James who are walking shyly inside the house

"For the last time don't call your brother and –"

"Whoa who's the overgrown grape? And what type of fertilizer is she using?" David says starring at something in the stairs

I hear Mary snicker behind me

I'm about to yell at him when I see what got his attention, it's my mother coming down the stairs with my father and now that I see her I can tell why David called her a grape, my mother is short and chubby just like a grape and it doesn't help that she is wearing a purple dress

"Be nice" I whisper pulling David's ear

"Owe child abuse I'm calling 911!" he says limping away as he shielded himself behind charlotte

"Why are you limping? I pulled your ear not your leg"

"Well you pulled it hard! I think you damaged a vein that went from my ear to leg, tell them Olive that what I said can actually happen" he says turning to his sister who is too entranced with her book

"You're an idiot David" she responded without taking her gaze off of her book

"Olive put that book down" I say taking the book from her hands "David don't laugh at her and please don't do nothing to embarrass me" he opens his mouth to protest but I cut him off "and James" I say turning to my oldest who is shifting uncomfortably where his standing he looks up at me with those icy blue eyes that remind me so much of his father "please try to smile"

He frowns at that

"Lizzie sweetie you want to introduce me to your beautiful children?"

I turn around and see my mom and dad looking at me curiously

"Yes this is…"I try to think of who I should introduce first or better yet who would embarrass me less but I'm beaten by David who steps up to them first

"Grandma! Grandpa!" David yells running to my parents giving them each a tight hug "it's been so long since I last saw you, I was like a tiny embryo huh? But I still remember you guys!" he says giving them his famous smile, then he starts sniffing them

Oh this can't be good

"Wow this is great! I thought you guys would smell like old people but you don't!" David says laughing

Oh this is really not good, I look at my mother to see how she will react, she looks shocked like she cannot believe he just said that but then she starts laughing when she sees him smiling, no one can hate David with that smile he has

"I am his majesty king of awesomeness but you can call me David" he says bowing down in front of my parents and grabbing my mother's hand and kissing her hand making my mother blush

I roll my eyes at this; he even winks at my mom making her blush more profoundly

"I can see where I got my good looks from, you are beautiful grandma" he says turning around and grinning at me

Now this is a total lie, David looks nothing like my parents my dad is a hazel eyed brunette while my mom is a blue eyed blonde, totally different from green eyed black hair David

But I got to give it to the kid he sure knows how to win people over, I don't know why I was so nervous of David meeting my parents, maybe he was right and I had to be more worried about James and olive

"If I may ask" David says quickly "what fertilizer do you use?"

Oh yeah that's why

Charlotte bursts out laughing by this

"Excuse me?" my mother asks confused

"Don't listen to him I dropped him when he was a baby" I say to my mother while grabbing David my the arm and trying to put him as far away from my parents as possible

"And who are the other two?" my father asks his knowing gaze switching from olive to James

"Oh my you must be olive!" my mother said, her southern accent changing olives name completely "why you're so beautiful! Just like my Lydia!" she squeals joyfully

I cringe at this, olive is nothing like Lydia. Lydia is a loudmouth red head with hazel eyes, nothing like quite, blue eye, black hair olive

My mother's eye sparkle with something, defiantly pride at the beauty of her grandchild, I can already see her thinking about my daughters' future wedding to some rich handsome guy

"Why look at your hair! Such a rich black color I bet your daddy was some kind of tall dark handsome exotic fella; your momma couldn't stay away from those types of men!"

Oh no my mother just did not bring up that discussion

I look nervously at my children to see if they look hurt by this but they look completely oblivious to what she said

"Why your just so beautiful olive!" my mother squeals giving olive an embrace, I see olives eyes widen at this action I take a step towards her to remove olive from this hug because if it's something that I know is that olive is not big on PDA

"Beautiful in what way? In a superficial what society thinks is the individuation of beauty? Or the definition of beauty which would be the, possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about?, which of course would be improbable because you just met me and you have no idea how I talk and or think. Which leads me to theorize that it's more of the idealistic view of society of the concept of beauty; my clear eyes or the high of cheekbones or even my dark features" olive says clearly oblivious to the reactions that her words had on my mother whose mouth is wide open and my father's eyes are sparkling of humor

"Thank you Olivia for that nice…..uh…speech" I say as I back her away from my mother's unforgiving gaze and shield her with my body. My mother obviously thinks olive was talking back

"Why I never, Lizzie you should teach your daughter to hold her tongue I see she inherited that from you" she says glaring at olive who is now behind me trembling in fear

"Well I had to inherit it from someone" I snap glaring daggers at my mother

Clearly my mother lost interest in olive when she opened her mouth and said something smart, she was expecting another Lydia but none of my children have any of the Bennet family personalities and my mother clearly can see that

There all exactly like their father

I think my father could sense the tension in the air because quickly he looked at James

"And who are you?"

"I'm William James" he said stepping forward "but you can call me James"

My father gives him once over look and then looks at Olivia and James with a knowing gaze, and then he looks at me and smiles

Does he know? Does he know that James is the living breathing identical copy of his father, by the way his gaze shifts from Olivia to James he must know

"well come here boy" my father said motioning to him his arms extended to give him a hug, I could see the hesitation in James part, he dislikes attention and more coming from people he believes are strangers

My father is about to give him a hug when James extends his arm and gives him a handshake and then goes to my mother and gives her a handshake as well

I groan at this

This cannot be happening

"Told you anti-social" charlotte comes and whispers in my ear

Yeah I think, exactly like his socially awkward father

I hear something break

Well my day cannot get any worse

All heads turn and right there in the living room is David standing over a broken vase

"He did it" David blurts pointing at James who is all the way to the other end of the room

My mother screeches, my father yells, charlotte laughs and Mary snickers I think I even hear a slow dying moans of patience

Oh wait no that's my patience, the one thing I tell that boy not to do and he does it

"Oh Thomas I'm having heart palpitations" my mother screams

"A tarantula con live more than two years without eating" I blurt out and quickly clamp my hand over my mouth

Great Lizzie you're back to your parents' house and your back to being the same girl who blurts out things when she's nervous

My father chuckles "well I see you haven't changed a thing Lizzie" he says with a smile in his face "come on Fanny I think we have to set up dinner" he says tugging my mother away who is sitting in the floor crying over her vase

She glares at David while standing up, so much for my mother liking David

"I'm so grounded aren't I?" he asks looking at me with his big green eyes

"Oh yeah you sure are your majesty king of awesomeness" I say with humor in my voice while grabbing his hand and going to the dining room making sure that he doesn't touch anything else

"Well I think that went just perfect" charlotte murmurs

* * *

The ride back home was quite to say the least, David once he got into the car fell asleep and James immediately put his earphones on; a clear sign that he didn't want to talk, olive was lost in her on thoughts as she starred out the window

"Mom" olive whispers as were getting close to our home

"Yes sweetie?" I ask never taking my eyes off the road

"What happened to our dad?"

I look in the rearview mirror and see my baby look even smaller as she looks up at me with her icy blue eyes full of tears; I curse my mother for reminding my kids that they have an absent father

And I curse even more William who got me pregnant, but most of all I curse my own stupidity for getting myself pregnant in the first place

I look at her again and notice that James is taking his earphones off making me believe that he was never listening to music, but he looks different then olive who is crying

He looks mad

"We don't need to know what happened to that man olive" he says to olive as he hugs her, now she's really sobbing but James is whispering stuff to her and she's nodding

The sight is making me start to cry so I look back to the road. The road becoming blurry due to my tears I try to hold them back as much as possible not wanting James and olive to see. I just have to make it to the apartment and my room and I can just let the tears fall

When I finally make it to my room I lock the room and throw myself in my bed soaking my pillow with my tears

My children will never have a father because of my stupid decisions

I hate myself so much right now

But it was Williams's decision to leave me, he left me in the most humiliating way, sure he doesn't know about the children but he left me so he walked out in all of us

He probably even has his own family by now

I hear my phone ring

Just great who is the idiot who interrupts me when I'm in the middle of my self-pity?

"Hello?" I answer my voice coming out hoarsely

"Lizzie are you all right?" my sisters sweet voice responds with worry

I groan

"Yeah I'm fine, what's up?"

She hesitates and I know Jane so well, right now she must be thinking if to ask me again if I'm all right and make me talk it out or just go straight to whatever reason she called me for, she chooses the latter

"Well I called to ask you for a favor"

I groan again, whenever Jane asks for a favor it means it's a big favor because she never bothers anyone with small favors she only bothers people when she really needs a person's help

"Sure I'll help what is it?"

"Do you still have your lunch break at 12 tomorrow?"

"Yeah why?"

"Well…." Jane says hesitantly

I can tell by her voice that I won't like what she is going to ask me

"Spit it out Jane I have to go check on the kids I haven't heard anything break in the last minutes"

"well I met this guy and he asked me out for lunch tomorrow at 12 but the hospital just called and told me I have a scheduled surgery at that time, but I don't have his number to cancel so I was wondering if you could go in my place and give him my number so we can reschedule" she says quickly

What! Since when is my sister having dates with random guys? Last time I did that I ended up pregnant with triplets!

No nope not happening

"What! Jane this guy for all we know could be a rapist or…or…. A murderer! Or worse a rapist murderer! Oh my god what if his like those guys we see in tv who is creepy obsessed with weird stuff! For all we know maybe he likes dressing like a big baby! Jane this is not okay!" I yell

"oh hush lizzie stop being so dramatic his nice and sweet I met him in a fundraiser the hospital did"

"Great so his rich, rich people are bad Jane they think there superior to everyone, rich men just like to use women"

"Well….there's something else Lizzie" she says so quietly that I could barely hear her

I know this could not get any worse then what I've already heard

"What is it?"

"Well his… his…"

"His what Jane?"

"His English!" she blurts out, I hear a slap through the phone probably Jane covering her mouth

I'm quite for the longest time, not knowing how to respond. My sister is going on a date with an English man.

Not good

Not good at all

I have to break this before she gets her heart broken like I did

"Jane you know British guys are jerks"

"Lizzie your just prejudice,His different his nothing like William, why don't you go tomorrow and check him up yourself?"

I scowl at this, I am not prejudice and ill prove it to her

"Ok fine" I say finally

"Yay!"

"but, I just want to tell you that this is going to end badly, he is English and I swear those English people are still mad at us for dropping there damn tea in Boston"

This makes her laugh, we talk for a little while more and she gives me the details of the restaurant and the name of the guy, some Charles Bingley, his name sounds familiar

He has a weird name must be a creep

No Lizzie stop it you're not prejudice, maybe his nice guy

As I hung up I notice that it has been quite, by now there's usually noise, I hurry out my room to look for them and find them all sitting in a circle in the floor talking and eating the rest of the hot dogs and sodas. They haven't noticed me yet

"We don't need to know who he is" James says practically yelling

"His right olive if that man has not tried to find us, why should we try to find him?" David responds

My breath catches in my throat. Olive wants to find William

This is not good

"Because I want to see how he looks like. Don't you want to know who he is? Don't you want to find out if you eat like him or if you talk like him or if you both have the same likes and dislikes? Don't you want to know that?" she looks down at what they're eating "don't you want to know if you have the same taste of soda or if he… he likes hotdogs? Or even how he likes his coffee? Olive pleads with her brothers

"No I don't, I don't want to know, if he doesn't want to find us or know about us we shouldn't either" James yells "and even if he wanted to see us I wouldn't want to see him, where was he these 10 years of our lives? Hmm? Where was he when you were scarred there was a monster underneath your bed?" he stops yelling when he sees olive crying and gets closer to her wrapping her in a hug, if it's something that I admire James for is his love for his siblings " Where was he when you had father daughter dances at your school? Where was he then?" his voice now a whisper

"But you know who was there? Mom, she was there all the time clapping in the sidelines to all our achievements, if she doesn't want to talk to us about him we should respect that" David says coming to hug his little sister

"I just want to meet him" olive says the pain in her voice palpable

I step to where the triplets are

My children

Not Williams

But mine

"He likes mountain dew" I whisper

They turn around and look at me, all three of their faces looking guilty at being caught talking about the men who left us, I look at olive who is holding her bottle of mountain dew "and he prefers tea then coffee but when he does drink coffee" I say sitting beside the three of them "he likes it black"

Just as bitter as he is I think

Olive smiles up to me tightening her grip on her soda like if it was a line to her father "what about hotdogs?" she asks, clearly she's happy at knowing anything about her father

I never knew she had so much curiosity of knowing who he was, what kind of mother am I? What other things do I not know about my youngest child?

"I- I- I don't know" I stammer looking down at my hands, I can't really tell them that I only knew their father for a week

"He left me before I had time to learn that about him" I look up at them and there all silent "but you can ask me whatever you want and I'll try to answer" I reassure them

Yeah that's good, compromise with them, it's better than them trying to go find him I think

"Do we look like him?" olive asks eagerly

I roll my eyes at that

"Obviously, or what you really think this is my natural hair color?" I ask as I tug on my dyed black hair

9 years ago I decided to dye my natural dark brown hair to jet black and straighten my curly hair every day. It was a personal decision and one that I don't regret, there was so much I could tolerate of strangers coming up to me in supermarkets or in restaurants telling me how my children must of inherited their fathers dark locks. I didn't want my children to keep being reminded that their father was not in the picture anymore

"Do I look like him? Who looks like him more? Do I act like him? Why does David have green eyes and we don't?" olive says jumping up from where she was sitting but still clutching tightly to her soda "what's his favorite movie? Does he like rock or country? Or maybe he was more of a pop music kind of guy? ooohh I know indie rock yeah I always imagined dad to like indie rock music" she says rapidly

Dad? I think, since when did she start calling him dad?

James and David must have thought the same thing because they jumped up from where they were sitting

"Olive that man left us do you understand that?" David asks her grabbing her arm

Olive looks at me for a response; I can tell from her eyes that she's imploring me to tell her that what David just said isn't true

"He left me" I whisper "but he left me with the greatest gift he could ever give me" I add quickly when I see more tears coming up in my little girls eyes "he left me with you guys and for that I'm thankful to him"

James and David hurry to where I'm sitting to hug me I look up at olive who has tears in her eyes I extend my hand at her and she takes it and we all sit there for what seemed like hours, just hugging and comforting each other

* * *

I can't believe I'm doing this, I think as I walk inside the restaurant Jane sent me to

My one hour from work and I have to spend it with a brit

Maybe I am prejudice like Jane said, I wonder if there's a support group for that or maybe a rehab center

The restaurant is high end, I bet this Bingley guy has money, because I know this place cannot be paid by a single mom like me, even if I am a lawyer, but I can smell expensive when I see it and this place is defiantly expensive

Expensive chairs, check

Expensive chandeliers, check

Expensive looking centerpieces that look like freaking abnormal trees, check

If I brought James, David, and olive here how long would it take me to get thrown out of this place? I bet 10 minutes if I'm with David, if I'm just with James and olive I give it 20 minutes before they annoy the waiters. I don't think ten year olds fit in the image of this high end restaurant; I glance around the restaurant and find no children, just as I thought, maybe they would allow children if they were sons and daughters of important people, or if they had a long list of exceptional pedigree in their blood

My kids have none

I should remember to order something to go before I go, just to give them a taste of the food they cook here, even though I doubt they would like it, there more happy with chicken nuggets and fries, or at least David is

I stop a waitress so she could show me where Charles Bingley was at and she pointed me to a table outside in the patio where a red head was at sitting in front of another man whose back was to me

Great now I have to spend my lunch break outside in the sun, I walk to where there at and I immediately put my sunglasses on when I walk outside in the bright sun

As I get closer I start thinking that this would be a great time to inspect and evaluate this Bingley guy

Charles was smiling and he had a lot of wrinkles close to his eyes a sign that he smiled a lot, that's a really good sign I don't know if rapist smile, do rapist murderers smile? Maybe a creepy smile but this guy doesn't look creepy

He looks more like a hyperactive puppy the way his always smiling

A puppy who has a goofy smile

The men sitting in front of him looked stiff like if he was uncomfortable here. He kind of reminds me of a special agent kinda like if he worked for the C.I.A or if he was an MI6 agent

He had black hair

Ugh I have a hate love relationship with people who have natural black hair. In one side I love them since my children have natural jet black hair, but in the other side I hate them since William has black hair

That man ruined my view of a lot of things

The red head kind of reminded me of princess Ariel from the little mermaid, his bright red hair with hyperactive personality

I've never liked red heads, they send me a weird vibe ever since red head Judith Grinchen told me in kindergarten that my face looked like boogers and didn't want to Be my friend, at that time her words hurt me nothing could be more meaner at that age then telling a 5 yr. old you didn't want to be there friend

But like my dad had taught me sticks and stones may hurt my bones but words would never hurt me, I like any other curious 5 year old out there put that saying to a test and in deed sticks and stones can hurt a person.

Judith Grichen never called me a booger face after that

That was my first time in many that I would get suspended from school, the second time was when Judith Grinchen was teasing a special ed student, so of course I attacked her and after that majority of the times I got suspended for smart talking a teacher or beating up kids for picking on Jane

What I'm trying to say is that red heads are the spawn of devils and I don't trust them so of course my sweet sister Jane had to fall for a red headed English guy

I got closer to where princess Ariel was talking to the MI6 agent try to inspect them even closer and see if I can hear what they're talking about

Princess Ariel seems too nice and is dressed impeccable in a suit, Armani for sure

I've never met a guy so impeccably dress; no wrinkle no stain

Well William dressed like that the first time I met him, but I'm pretty sure he dressed like that because he had a job interview or something plus this Bingley guy is different because his smiling! William hardly smiled

There's defiantly something wrong with this Bingley ,no guy could be that happy and good dressed, I'm just not sure what's wrong yet , I stand there confused when I hear something that snaps me to attention

"Jane is an angel; I can't wait for you to meet her. She has beautiful blond hair and gorgeous dark blue eyes" princess Ariel says lovingly "I'm telling you Darcy she's perfect"

I think I like this guy, I've never heard a guy talk like that before. And he sounds sincere, the only negative thing is that his English

"You say that about every girl you meet Charles" the MI6 agent says disinterested

Ugh MI6 has an English accent and this guy doesn't seem as nice as Charles

But Charlie just laughs "Jane is such an angel, did you know that she just moved here to Manhattan? She used to live in Atlanta with her sister whose a single mother helping her raise her three children. Jane said that she was going to try to arrange for her me to meet her sister"

MI6 agent grunts at this "I would not like to meet a women like that, think about it Charles, she's a single mother with three children, I bet every one of her children are from different fathers and I bet she must be waiting to catch herself a rich husband so she can stop working at the local supermarket and make the poor guy maintain her and her bastards, I bet your beautiful angel just wants you to meet her sister so you can marry her" he says taking a swing of his drink and gulping it down quickly

My blood boils from this statement, so this arrogant prideful man thinks that I'm a whore! Who works in a supermarket no less, which isn't bad but he thinks that I am trying to catch myself a rich guy

Well Mr. MI6 my children are all of the same guy and I'm a lawyer!

I want to scream this to him but before I could tell them princess Ariel spots me starring at them

"May I help you?" he asks

"Well actually yes-" I say about to start screaming at the MI6 agent but what I'm about to say gets stuck in my throat as the other men turns around and looks at me

And his eyes make me want to faint

He has the iciest blue eyes

And only one guy could have those eyes

"You!" he says standing up knocking his chair as he does

No freaking way I think

"Really god" I say looking at the sky "what have I done to deserve this!" I yell

Because in front of me is none other than William the father of my children

Well damn

* * *

**A/N: I just noticed I missed some reviews and I didn't answer them, but in the next chapter ill answer them **

**Btw do you think I should write a flashback of the week Lizzie spent with Darcy? that would explain a lot of things, for example why she hates him so much, would you guys like to read that?**

**also please review that would really encourage me to keep writing, because if it wasn't for the reviews I would totally stop because I'm always so busy I literally have no time, I actually write at 2 in the morning or I wake up really early to write that way I have time. plus the reviews also help me update faster**

**So please review! And favorite and follow **

**As always I give out virtual food! This time it's a true southern dinner includes fried chicken corn bread, mashed potato, and rice…yummm….now I'm hungry….**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **Oh my god guys I love you! Thank you for leaving me so many pretty reviews! You have made me want to update faster. Honestly I was going to update yesterday but my friend he came over so I just spent the day being crazy with him. And then last night I felt so guilty I didn't even write . So I woke up super early today to write this chapter. So here I am updating….**

**So I had so many reviews for last chapter that I can't answer all of them individually because that would just take too much time, but I am going to answer the people who left me questions. **

**Answering questions of Team Southern Dinner!**

**The question that was left the most or better yet it wasn't that much of a question it was more a fact about me missing punctuations especially periods and using 'his' instead of 'he's'. Ok so I'm going to tell you guys the truth.**

**I love to write, but I'm a lazy writer. Does that make sense? My mind is always working it never stops, if you met me you would know that I can never stop talking. Like seriously I don't have an off switch. So I'm always rambling so I think that transcends to my writing. I write and write and don't stop writing. I type what I think, and I think my thoughts just come out in a big long sentence. Seriously that's what my teacher calls my writing a big huge sentence because I hardly ever use periods. She tells me my writing gives her headaches. She's a big grammatical police. I think my writing isn't the problem I think I give her headaches with my never stopping mouth. But that's a different story. So I reread the last chapter and seriously people how did I not give you guys a headache? That was like a huggggeee big then I started paying attention to my mistakes, and I just wanted to slap myself, because they were easy mistakes like using 'his' instead of 'he's.' So yeah sorry about that, I'm going to try to update the last chapter with periods and everything but like I said I'm a lazy writer so that will probably be some weeks before I actually update it with correct punctuation marks. **

**But going back to me being a lazy writer, I'm going to tell you guys how I correct my grammatical errors. I don't reread the chapter, nope, like I said I'm lazy. I just go to Microsoft ABC Spelling & Grammar check and just change whatever Microsoft tells me to change. Like I said I'm lazy. And im guessing Microsoft spelling doesn't really work.**

**Damn you Microsoft!**

**I know it's bad from my part. So I'm going to try to change my lazy tendencies starting with this chapter**

**So thank you to all who made me see my bad habits, I bet my teacher will be so happy and thank full to all of you **

**But really I need a beta like someone suggested. Anyone want to be my beta? If you do PM me! Pleaaaaasssse help a poor lazy illiterate girl out!**

**Gracias también a todos los lectores en español que leen esta historia. De verdad que me animan sus comentarios a seguir escribiendo por cierto corríjanme si escribo algo mal en español, es que mi español no es tan bueno. **

**Thank you to all I love you guys!**

* * *

**Flashback**

**10 Years ago**

He was a fine mess, a beautiful disaster, a dazzling catastrophe. He was like a car accident that I could not look away from. I knew that it would end badly but still I stayed.

He was hypnotist, I knew something was wrong the moment I said see you tomorrow but by then I was already hypnotized.

He was a fascinating dull person like a new classic. He always acted like he was alone in a crowd

He was an impossibly and utterly an oxymoron.

Everything he did was a contradiction to himself. The dull boring person he showed to the rest of the world was not the person he showed to me

And I liked that.

I liked the fact that I could see a side that no one else saw. It was like my own secret garden, something that no one else could enjoy but me.

That should of told me something was wrong. I should of noticed something was not right when I could see how easily he changed personas, how easily he lied.

But I tried to deceive myself by thinking he was just like that, that he actually cared for me.

How wrong I was.

* * *

**DAY 3**

"So you're telling me you hate coffee?" William asks with a sly smile in his face.

"Yes I find the taste disgusting, to bitter for my taste. I think that life is too short to be wasting your time and taste buds in things that don't brighten up your day. I don't want to eat or drink things that remind me that the world is bitter and dark" I say taking a sip out of my hot chocolate "I prefer drinking things that remind me of sweetness and winter nights spent over the fireplace" I say holding up my hot chocolate to him so he could see it.

"You are one peculiar person Elizabeth" William says leaning back in his chair. I can feel him studying me with his intense icy blue eyes. I try not to fidget under his gaze, which is much more difficult then said.

I've spent the last two days with William. After our first encounter in Starbucks two days ago we've had this unspoken arrangement of coming at the same time every day and sitting in the same table. I have come to look forward to these 30 minutes of the day with him. The first time I met him I found him to be a very shy awkward person. People would think that he would be more outspoken and cocky because of his good looks. But the strange thing about William is that he's not conscious of his good looks or the way every woman in this café looks at him.

I look around and sure enough almost every woman in the packed café is looking at us some with envy and some with curiosity. Obviously curious to know how a woman like me could be sitting in front of a guy like him.

I'm even curious myself to know why he's sitting with me. And also I would love to know how the hell he always finds this table empty. This place is always packed but somehow he's always sitting in this particular table. Weird.

I take this time to study William as he drinks his tea. His black hair is cut short and he's wearing a simple white t-shirt with jeans. Very different from the attire he was wearing when I first met him. Maybe he was going to have a job interview and had to dress up, which would explain why he's not dressed up anymore.

But of course I'm not going to ask him that. We've also developed this unspoken arrangement to not talk about anything personal. Ever since I joked with him that giving out last names was dangerous because they could steal social security numbers he hasn't asked for my last name and I haven't asked his. And I like it like that; I like the fact that I can be someone else with him, someone totally different then what people expect of me when they hear Bennet. He doesn't know about beautiful Jane or my crazy mother or my gothic sister.

He only knows me. Elizabeth.

I can be myself with him. I can be Elizabeth, just Elizabeth. Not Elizabeth Bennet.

I can act like I want to without my mother yelling at me that my actions will have repercussions in the family's image.

My eyes flick back to him and he's still looking at me. I study his eyes, such an impossible color. Even when he squints his eye color still pops. Such a rare complexion -dark hair with super icy blue eyes- He must have some very good genes.

"So what do you think?" he says.

I snap back into attention "think about what?" I ask embarrassed he caught me distracted.

"You weren't paying attention to what I was saying were you?" he asks his eyes full of humor.

"Not my fault your eyes are distracting!" I blurt out and immediately want to curse myself and my no brain filter.

William looks confused. Like if he has no idea why his eyes would make someone distracted.

"My eyes?" he asks confused

I roll my eyes at this. Surly he should know why his eyes would make me forget there's a world outside.

"Yeah there beautiful, not even Crayola could invent such a beautiful color like that, your eyes hypnotize. You could very well work in Vegas in a magic show….but you would have to wear spanx… I think…. I don't know if they still do wear spanx…do they still wear spanx?" I laugh of the thought of William wearing spanx "you have beautiful eyes, there your best attribute. Not that I'm saying you ugly. Because…" I point to his whole body "your just….wow, it's like if you walked out of some fashion magazine. Your parents must really know how to create babies….not that I'm saying I'm imagining your parents doing it….I mean surely they must have done it to make you….oh my god stop me now" I say hiding my face in embarrassment due to my rambling

William shifts uncomfortably in his chair looking everywhere except at me. Good job Elizabeth you made the only person you have met in England feel uncomfortable with you. Knowing him and his shy tendencies he must be ready to run from you.

"Well….that was…." I see his brain working trying to find a word for my most embarrassing ramble "informative?"

"Owls are the only birds in the world that can see the color blue." I blurt out

William finally looks up at me with this. He has no expression in his face. Wow good job Lizzie you're scarring him with your nervous tick of blurting out random facts.

Stupid stupid stupid

Then his face breaks into a smile and then laughter. I start laughing too, more because I'm relieved then nothing.

"Well you do have beautiful eyes so why hide the fact from you? I think that it's good to express what's in your mind not hide it. For example if I think someone is good looking I think it's better if I tell them, it doesn't mean I will sleep with them, it just means that I find them attractive. I appreciate good genes when I see them. Which by the way I think your attractive and I think the rest of the woman here find you attractive too" I say nodding my head at the rest of the people around the café "and I think even other men find you cute too" I say with a grin as I catch some men from the other table looking at him

He blushes at this. I can tell he's not used to being called attractive, or maybe he has been called attractive but hasn't believed it. Which leads me to think either he was either a very ugly child and isn't used to being called beautiful or he had an even more beautiful sibling who must of stolen all the attention and beauty away from him. Just like what happened with Jane and me. I'm not ugly but when I was with Jane I felt like the ugly duckling, of course all the oohs and awes went to Jane and her beauty and everyone forgot about me. It was when I wasn't with Jane that people noticed that I wasn't that ugly as they thought.

"You're really outspoken you know that?" William says

I grin at him "I know"

He shakes his head and smiles "and you're also very weird"

I laugh at this "wow you sure know how to woo a woman" I say "but what was it you were asking me?"

He begins to shift again, something that I've noticed he does a lot when he's nervous. "well….I…you see" he stops, his eyebrows squeezing together as he's deep in concentration as he figures out a way to tell me what he wants to say "I don't have nothing to do this week, I'm in vacation you could say, so I was wondering if I could spend it with you" he says looking hopeful at me "I could show you around London"

I repress an urge to yell 'hell yeah' and look like a total desperate women. There is so much I can tolerate of being around my ten year old cousin whose a know it all and my baby cousins. "Your boss wouldn't mind you taking this week off?" I ask making sure he won't get in trouble

I can tell he wants to laugh at something, I don't know what though "yeah you can say that" he says smiling

Awe so he is unemployed, maybe that's what he found so funny

"well then suite boy prepare to get the funnest week you've ever experienced" I stop and look at him and smile a mischief smile "the American way" I say standing up and offering him my hand

"Should I be worried?" he says taking my hand

"Well let's just say we Americans don't get embarrassed that easily as you English people" I say laughing at his worried look.

* * *

**DAY 5**

"Get down!" I yell tackling William to the floor as a paintball fly's and hits the tree behind us. I stand up quickly and quickly shoot the person who shot at us.

"What the hell!" William sputters underneath me his face red from the exertion of running around in the forest as people fire at us with paintball guns. "How did you learn to shoot?"

"My mom's from the south, every time I would visit my aunt and uncle over there my uncle would take me hunting, it was until I got a little older that I noticed I was killing defenseless animals" I say

William nods in understanding

"I don't know how you convinced me to do this, this is not fun at all" he says growling as he stands up.

"Awe stop whining" I say trying to tame my curly hair in place "it makes you look ugly"

He scowls at this

"This is way more fun than walking around looking at paintings" I say "don't get me wrong it was nice the first hour but after the women in front of us in the tour started asking questions about what was the difference between vintage paintings and classic paintings I seriously was considering to volunteer my ears and eyes to the science community" I add quickly when his smile starts falling

The idea of going to an art museum was his idea. I mean I love museums but I tend to get a little restless after some time walking around trying to find the meaning of some painting that looks nothing more like splattered paint.

This is the 5th day I've known William.

"You're so dramatic Elizabeth" he says laughing

I glare at him "your mocking me" I say

He continues to laugh as he walks away giving me a good look at his sculpted back and perfect butt.

Damn that man is fine.

"The way to the flag is this way" I yell pointing to the other direction William is walking towards

William turns around "I knew that, I just wanted to see if you were paying attention"

"Of course you where" I say smiling.

It takes us about 15 minutes to get to where the flag is at. We decide that I'm going to go and take it and William is going to cover me from behind a tree. Once I get to where the flag is at a tall scrawny teenager pops up from behind a tree.

"Hi beautiful" he slurs looking at me in a perverted way.

Great a hormonal teenager. Just what I needed.

"You want the flag don't you?" he asks.

"No I came here to watch the grass grow, of course I came here for the flag you idiot!" I yell.

"Oh you're feisty, I like that"

I roll my eyes; I don't have time for this. "Look get out of my way or I'll shoot you in your balls" I say aiming my gun at him

"I'll give you the flag" he says offering me the flag. I look at him skeptically.

"But first I want you to show me your boobs" he says heaving.

I laugh at this "nope, I choose shooting at your balls" I say aiming my gun down at him, but he quickly grabs my gun with one hand and with the other he grabs my wrist.

Wow for someone so lanky he's strong. Must be because he plays video games so much. Can Pushing buttons strengthen a person? I'm about to kick him when I get hit with a paintball.

What the hell!? Who shot me?

Tall and lanky gets scared and runs off with the flag shooting blindly to whomever shot me. Just great.

"Elizabeth are you all right?" William comes running towards me worry written across his face.

"I'm all right" I say standing up from where I fell in the floor "did you see who shot me?" I ask him.

He blushes at this and looks at the floor "yeah that was me" he says sheepishly "I was aiming for the guy who attacked you but I don't have a good aim"

I finally look at him and he has paint splattered in his chest, apparently one of tall and lanky blind shots found William. I don't know why this makes me laugh so much and before I know it me and William are in the grass floor laughing like crazy.

"I guess we lost" William says looking at me

"I guess so" I say laughing

* * *

**DAY 6**

"Sorry but were out of Mountain Dew is Sprite okay?" the waitress asks William.

He scrunches up his face "no that's all right I'll get water instead" he replies to the waitress.

She snaps back into attention when William closes his menu, apparently the eye color is memorizing to the whole population of women.

"Your drinks will be here shortly" she says smiling at William completely ignoring me.

William of course and his social awkwardness does not realize that the waitress is ogling him.

"She wants you" I tell William after the waitress has gone.

He looks up at me startled by this. I still don't comprehend how a man who looks like him does not realize the effect he has on the opposite sex. I want to tease him about this, but I know William enough to know he hates to be teased. In another occasion I will tease him.

This is the sixth day that I know William. We decided after going window shopping that we should eat somewhere. He told me we should try this fancy restaurant, but I explained to him that I hate fancy restaurants. The people in there are just judging everyone, even the waitresses' judge! I told him that there was this family restaurant that I had gone the first day I was here in London that served really good food.

So that's what we're doing right now.

"Why don't you like Sprite? It taste the same as Mountain Dew" I ask after a minute of silence

He gasps "Sprite does not taste the same! I'm offended" his face is expressionless; I feel the need to apologize until I see a smile breaking into his face.

"ha ha ha you're so funny" I reply as the waitress puts down our drinks in front of us.

"Do you know what you want to order?" she says smiling at William and addressing only him. I want to tell her that her attitude will only get her a lower tip. But of course I get interrupted by William and his order. She then looks at me waiting for my order.

"I'll get a bowl of vanilla ice-cream and some brownies after that I'll get the supreme burger"

She looks at me curiously but doesn't ask any questions. At least she has manners.

I turn to see William and he has an eyebrow raised.

"what?"

"You eat your desert first?" he asks curiously.

"Yeah and?"

"Don't you think that's weird?" he asks.

I shrug "I don't care what people think about me, the way I see it all the rest of the people who eat their food first and then desert are wrong" I say drinking my soda.

"Oh please do explain. Enlighten me, now you've left me wondering. And it would be really rude of your part to leave me in expectation" he says leaning against his chair with a humor in his eyes.

That bastard.

He's laughing at me.

"The way I see it" I say putting my drink down "I want to enjoy life at its fullest. Society thinks that you should eat dinner first and then desert but since I was a child I've always loved deserts and always looked forward to it when I finished my dinner. But by the time I had finished dinner I was too full and thus didn't enjoy my desert. That's why I think desert should be eaten first and then dinner. So that we can enjoy the taste of desert to its fullest"

"well that's quite a theory Elizabeth, but many can fight with you and tell you your little arrangement can bring many consequences to the health getting full on just sweets would bring down your health" Williams says still with a smirk in his face

"Well _William_" I say putting a lot of emphasis in his name "I never said that I would get full on just sweets I did order dinner, didn't I?"

He laughs "well I can't argue with that argument"

"Well I do try to enjoy life" I say laughing

"Always? Don't you think that there are moments where you have to be responsible and do your duty?" he asks

"Of course there are moments where you have to be responsible, but the way I see it our whole life revolves in the past. We've lived all these years and everything we've lived through are memories the only thing we have is _now. The present. _These seconds that right now are our present, and it's up to us to enjoy them. To make these seconds these minutes a memory we can come back to when we have problems or difficulties. And that's what I think enjoying life is all about. Making memories worth staying up at night thinking about."

His eyes gaze deep into me. Analyzing me. I'm afraid to look away, I don't know what his trying to find. But I won't coward down to him.

"You're unlike any other woman I have met Elizabeth" he finally says.

"I know" I laugh "oooh I love this song!" I tell William as a song plays as background music in the restaurant "me and my dad have this tradition that whenever this song plays me and him dance to it, wherever were at" I stand up "come on" I say to William extending my hand to him.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Were going to dance!"

"Here?" he asks looking around at the pact restaurant.

"Of course"

He looks up at me for a minute, I can see his hesitation. He's not used to doing these kinds of random things. He finally takes my hand and stands up.

"Come on" I whisper "let's go make some memories"

* * *

**DAY 7**

"Come on" I say to William who doesn't want to jump the gate.

"I don't think this is a good idea" he says, I see his silhouette in the night and he's shifting uncomfortably in his feet. He's nervous.

"This place is abandoned; no one will know were here. Come on it will be fun!" I exclaim trying to encourage him to jump the gate.

I found an abandoned hotel two days ago and I've wanted to explore it. So this is what we're doing tonight or better yet what I might do since William is too much of a coward to trespass in private property.

He exhales "fine" he mutters and quickly climbs over the gate. I squeal in happiness. At least if I get caught and go to prison I won't be alone. I know selfish of my part.

"Come on" I say grabbing his arm and tugging him to the hotel.

A window is broken so that's where we enter from. The hotel is huge; it looks like if it was a beautiful in its time. It kind of reminds me of a palace. A beautiful palace.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I ask in awe

"I find it creepy and dirty" William responds

"I feel like if I just stepped into an 18th century novel" I say with a courtesy, then before I know what I'm doing I start singing and twirling

"_Dancing bears painted wings things I almost remember and a song someone sings once upon a December_" I sing twirling and dancing across the lobby of the abandoned hotel, I feel like if I just stepped into a whole new world. I grab William and start dancing with him, or better yet I dance and he stands stiffly.

"_Someone holds me safe and warm horses prance through a silver storm figures dancing gracefully across my memory_" I start humming and twirling loosing myself in the song

"What are you doing?" William says stopping me from my dancing

"Have you ever seen the movie Anastasia?" I ask him

He shakes his head

"Then you don't understand what I'm doing, there's a scene in the movie where she enters an abandoned palace that reminds me of this hotel and she starts singing and dancing." I tell him "I was obsessed with that movie; I think I watched it every day, I watched it a million times just for that scene…. I found it magical" I say in a whisper remembering the movie I start humming the song again as I twirl again.

"_Far away long ago glowing glim as an ember things my heart use to know, things it yearns to remember, and a song someone sings….once upon a December_" I finish dropping myself to the floor like I remember the girl in the movie did.

I stop when I see William staring at me attentively

"You should watch it, it's beautiful" I say standing up cleaning my jeans from the dirt it collected.

"I think I will" he says expressionless

We stand there awkwardly for I don't know how long until I remember why I brought him here.

"Come on" I say grabbing his hand again and taking him up the stairs until we find the roof.

"This is what I wanted to show you" I tell him

"A roof?"

I roll my eyes "no you smart ass" I say taking some blankets from my bag and laying them in the ground "come on" I say motioning him to sit beside me in the blankets.

He hesitates before sitting beside me.

"So what did you want to show me?"

I push him down so his lying in the blanket and I quickly do the same thing and lye beside him.

"That" I said pointing to the night sky.

"Elizabeth if you wanted to star gaze I'm sorry to tell you but this is London, we can't see the stars due to light pollution"

I laugh at this "that is why I came prepared" I say grabbing my bag and taking flashlights and papers from it "we have the same problem in Manhattan. I have a little sister who is obsessed with star gazing but since we can't see the stars we do the next best thing" I say handing him a paper and flashlight.

He looks at me curiously before looking down at the paper. I remember the first time Mary showed me how to do this. I thought it was a little crazy but afterwards I liked the idea. But then I remember the unspoken rule about not talking about nothing personal. I look up at him to see if he realized my mishap.

"So you have a little sister?" he asks

I nod my head, not correcting him and telling him that I actually have three younger sisters.

"I also have a younger sister. But she's not into star gazing. When she was little she used to make me play with her." He says looking up at the night sky "she had this doll she loved a lot, made me name her"

My jaw drops, William played with his little sister? That has to be the cutest thing ever "what did you name the doll?" I ask him trying to take back my composure.

"I called her Olivia but my sister hated that name so she used to call her olive" he shrugs "I guess you were right about making memories you can think about at night" he says smiling at me, he has an amazing smile he should smile more often.

"This is a star map" he says looking down at the paper

"yep" I answer trying to remember what was the reason I brought him here "the thing we do is that we look down at the paper and see the stars and then look at the sky and imagine them there, for example that's the big dipper" I say pointing at stars in the paper "and they would be there" I say pointing at a spot in the night sky "the big dipper is my favorite by the way"

"Why?" William asks

I curse myself for telling William that I like the Big Dipper

"Did you know why the big dipper is called that?" I say changing his question; I don't want to tell him my reason for liking that specific constellation.

"Why do you like the Big Dipper Elizabeth?" he asks me, not dropping the subject. He turns to his side to look at me his icy blue eyes still visible even in the darkness.

"Its called the big dipper because the major stars can be seen to follow the rough outline of a large ladle or dipper."

He takes my cheek and cups it with his hand "why do you like the Big Dipper Elizabeth?" he asks again but this time in a soft voice.

"In the 19th century, runaway slaves would follow the Big Dipper to the north with hopes of freedom." I say ignoring his question

He exhales and finally turns away from me. His lye's back in the blanket.

I don't know if I should tell William my reason. I barley know him, yes I've spent almost all my waking hours of this week with him but can I tell him this?

"The Native Americans had the Big Dipper as a bear. A momma bear followed by her three cubs. And I don't know but I've always liked that story better. I just think how protective the mother bear is and the love for her three cubs she must have" I look at William and I don't know what he must think, I know he must know that this story hurts me because I must have some problem with my own mother.

"And that's why I like the Big Dipper because like the Native Americans said it's actually a momma bear protecting its three cubs" I say looking at the sky where I know the Big Dipper should be.

I look at William again and his eyes have become darker then what they were some minutes ago.

"are you o-" but I'm interrupted of what I'm going to ask him when I feel Williams lips pressed against my own. I don't move to shocked about whats happening.

William is kissing me. William is kissing me.

William. Is. Kissing. Me.

His lips are soft and warm and shy like if he doesn't know if he should be doing this. I know if I asked him right now he would stop. But do I want him to stop? I don't know. Before I decide what to do William is retreating from me.

"Sorry I just had to do that, I've been asking myself how it would feel to kiss you" he says starring at his hands. He's shifting nervously again and blushing profoundly even in the darkness I can see his blush

He looks adorable

And before I know what I'm doing I reach for him and kiss him. It's supposed to be a short kiss reassuring him that everything is fine, that we can still be friends. Nothing more can happen I think. Were just friends, I just met this guy a week ago, that would just be too easy of my part if I let this continue. But what started off as soft and delicate has become tough and hard with hunger.

Raw hunger.

I've had boyfriends before and I've kissed them before but I've never experienced this feeling of not wanting to stop. Before I know it I'm lying in my back and William is on top of me. I don't know where my shirt went or his for the matter. All I know is that there's too much clothes between us and I want them off.

"I've never done this before" I whisper to him.

He just grunts.

"Did you know" I say between kisses "that every three minutes someone in America reports seeing a UFO?"

"Your weird" he responds.

"And your awkward" I laugh

I wonder how old he is, I just turned eighteen 3 months ago. He looks like he's in his early 20's or mid 20's

But all I know is that I don't want him to stop and I know we won't stop.

* * *

**DAY 8**

My eyes flutter open when I feel the sunlight in my eyes. I have the blanket in top of my naked body. William must have put it there. I turn around to look at William but I don't find him there. I look around but his not here.

He left.

Don't worry Lizzie he must have gone to get something to eat. He didn't leave you. I quickly get up and put my clothes on. I sit there waiting for him for what must have been hours but he never comes. Maybe he had an emergency I think as I climb over the gate of the abandoned hotel.

Yeah that's it, he had an emergency maybe he will be at the café like every day today waiting for you, I tell myself.

I walk quickly to the café to wait for him not caring I'm wearing yesterday's clothes. I don't care if I'm walking the walk of shame; all I want is to see William again.

I stay in the café till dark.

William never came.

"Miss were about to close" the barista says standing beside me. I look up at her; it's the same young woman who always attends here when I and William are here. She looks down at me with pity.

She must know what happened by the way I'm dressed and the way my jaw is tight with anger.

I walk back humiliated to my uncles' house. The ache between my legs the only sign that William ever existed.

Aunt Gardiner must be worried about me. How irresponsible of my part of not calling her to tell her I wouldn't be home all day.

As I walk tears start falling down my cheeks. William used me. He used me. He only wanted one thing, and he must have thought the weird crazy American girl would be easy.

How wrong I was about him.

He lied to me all this time. I'm so stupid.

Stupid stupid girl.

I walk into my uncle and aunt's house, my aunts yelling at me for not calling, her worry is evident in her voice. She's crying. I don't know what she's saying. I'm in a haze. All I know is that I feel dirty, I need to take a shower. I need to get his kisses and touches off of my skin. I need him out of me.

I run into my bathroom and lock the door. I get into the shower not worrying to take my clothes off. I just sit there crying my eyes out, letting the water mix with my tears.

I won't cry for you William. These will be the last tears I will shed for you. You're not worth it. You played with my feelings but I won't let you play with my feelings anymore.

Damn you William

Damn you

But what Elizabeth never noticed was a note beside her when she woke up in neat handwriting

Dear Elizabeth,

I'm sorry I couldn't wake up beside you I just got a call from my job and there was an emergency. You looked to cute to wake up. I might be stuck at the office the whole day but I would love for you to come visit me at the office. My number is in the back of the paper. Please call me I can't wait to see you.

From

The awkward human being who is falling in love with you,

William Darcy

P.s I know we aren't supposed to tell each other's our last names or anything personal but I think we can drop that after last night

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**A/N: ok guys don't kill me. I know this was supposed to be the chapter when Elizabeth finally sees Darcy again, but so many people wanted a flashback that I decided to make one. I was actually going to make it short like someone suggested and just continue on with the story. But like I said I just get carried away writing.**

**The Anastasia song is called once upon a December, you guys should look it up, it's beautiful! And the story of the big dipper is true, even about the momma bear and her three cubs.**

**Next chapter will defiantly be Elizabeth meeting Darcy again. How do you think she will react to him.? Knowing how Elizabeth is and her tough personality?**

**Please review that is what makes me keep writing, because if people don't review I just think everyone hated it.**

**If anyone wants to be my beta please PM me…ppllllllleeeeeeaasssseeee help me out and all my grammatical errors, lol**

**If you review and favorite or follow I will give out virtual food….this time its virtual churros…I love churros **

**BTW To the guest reviewer who wanted me to update Monday, sorry I couldn't but I updated today for you! I know its late by a day, but I seriously woke up early today just so I could update it...sorry...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So sorry that I haven't updated in two weeks, life has been busy. But thankfully we had a snow storm that locked me inside my house. But anyways guess what guys?! I have a beta! Now you wont get headaches because of my horrible grammar you all have to thank Julianabr who is like the queen of grammar. I seriously appreciate your help!**

**Now to answer TEAM CHURROS questions!**

**The questions that were left the most were about when I would update: I'll try to update every week and if I see interest in the story twice a week. It also depends how busy me and my beta are. She's a full time mom so you know she's busy **

**The other question that was left was why Elizabeth didn't see the note; well you guys will learn that as the story progresses. There's a very good excuse of why she never saw it. **

**Btw I have nothing against red heads or blondes my grandma is a natural red head and my mom has dark red hair even though they prefer the term auburn . And my aunts are blondes and I have dark brown hair even though everyone tells me I have a dark auburn hair but I live in denial of my hair color**

**Darn Irish heritage **

**Anyways thanks for being patient with me and liking and reviewing my story**

**Gracias a mis lectores en español que leen mi historia, si entiendo todo en español solamente que a veces ciento que no lo escribo bien.**

**I love you guys!**

** Los amo a todos! **

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When I was in tenth grade, the teacher assigned the class a project that we each had to do. We could do it about anything. I decided to do the project on constellations since I loved to gaze up at the sky. Well, I don't know how but Judith Grinchen found out that I was going to do my project on constellations. Of course, being the witch that Judith Grinchen is, she decided to make fun of me and my 'immature hobbies'. I ignored her of course, since I had enough school suspensions to last me my whole lifetime and I didn't need my mother yelling at me for giving her heart palpitations. After school, Judith had the great idea to corner Mary and me to make fun of my project. She said only idiots would star gaze in Manhattan since there are no visible stars. It was then that Mary calmly explained to her how we stargazed with the flashlight and paper.

Well I completely forgot about that encounter with Judith until we had to present our projects in front of the whole class. The teacher had this great idea to start the presentation of projects in alphabetical order but from Z-A. Since my last name is Bennet I would be one of the last persons to present her project.

When it was time for Judith Grinchen to present her project she turned off the lights of the classroom and proceeded to hang up a moon in the middle of the classroom. It was when she started to pass out a sheet of paper and flashlights that I figured out that she was stealing Mary's and my special way of stargazing. She then told everyone she was doing her project on constellations and pointed to where each constellation would be if this were a night sky. During the whole time she was explaining this she was staring and smiling sweetly at me.

When it was my turn to present my project everyone thought it was a rip-off of Judith's project. As hard as I tried to explain to the teacher that Judith had cheated, she didn't believe me.

I had never been so angry in my whole entire life. I was seriously considering cornering Judith and disfiguring her face. But Jane told me that was my dramatic side talking and I was exaggerating.

If a person asked me to remember a time when I was the most mad and angry in my life, I would direct them to this particular memory.

But now, standing in front of the asshole that impregnated me ten years ago and left me, I think this moment surpasses it. I never thought I would be as angry as the Judith Grinchen incident, but now I can see that I wasn't even close to being as furious as I am right now.

What would you do if, after ten years, you saw the asshole who impregnated you and disappeared?

You can discover what a woman is really made of by seeing how she reacts when she meets an ex. You can usually categorize them into four types:

There's the _'avoider'_ who avoids their ex as much as possible; hides behind plants, friends, waiters, even plants that are their friends. Weird, I know, but I don't judge people. Then there are the _'nice'_ ones who will act as if they're really good friends and be all sweet and nice. Hell, maybe even bake him a cake. There are the _'beggars'_ who will cry and beg for reconciliation. And finally, there are the _'I'm-going-to-make-you-jealous'_ type ex-girlfriend, who parades their new boyfriend (or even a fake boyfriend) around the ex, trying to make him jealous.

Unfortunately for William, I am none of the above. I'm the _'I'm-going-to-disfigure-your-face-next-time-I-see-you'_ type ex.

For a moment, I wonder if I'm even considered an ex, since we never really 'dated'. I mean, I did spend a whole week with him going out with him to different places. Is that considered dating?

But at least I know I wasn't a one-night stand. Right?

You know, I had spent a week with him, so we weren't strangers (even though I had no idea what his last name was or anything about his family, and I knew absolutely nothing personal about him…).

But even so, I didn't consider him a stranger, so of course it couldn't have been a one-night stand. I mean, I just slept with him once...

Oh my god! I was a one-night stand!

The amount of disgust I have with myself right now has no limit.

Thoughts of scratching his perfect face until it wasn't recognizable were running through my mind. But I couldn't really do that since this was a fancy restaurant and I don't think my children would react well to having their mothers face in the afternoon news. So I did the second best thing.

I slapped him.

Assault charges and restraining orders be damned.

To say I felt good would be an understatement.

So many pent up feelings were running through me. Ten years of bottled anger were ready to explode. I had spent nights imagining what I'd do or tell him when I finally saw him again. Because of him, my mother kicked me out of my house. Because of him, I didn't see my parents for ten years. Because of him, I stayed awake thinking about how I was going to feed my children when they were born, when I could barely feed myself. Because of him, I have stretch marks. Because of him, I cried myself to sleep every night when I was pregnant. Because of him, I had to decide between buying diapers or buying school supplies. He was the catalyst for all my problems.

As I stare at his icy blue eyes I can see anger and shock as he holds his slapped cheek with his hand. I hate him so much right now.

He looks different. Still as gorgeous as ever unfortunately, but when I saw him the last time he looked young, almost like a boy. But now he's a man…a complete man. He has aged gracefully; he's like wine, he's gotten better as he's gotten older. I can spot small wrinkles in his face. But it's the expression on his face that worries me. He looks like he carries the whole world on top of his shoulders. He has bags under his eyes like if he has never gotten a single night of good sleep. He looks so much like James right now when he's mad that I have the urge just to hug him and tell him everything will be all right.

But this isn't my son. It's his father.

Charlie stands up quickly from his chair and looks confused at the scene playing right in front of him. His eyes go quickly from me to William.

"What's happening here?" Charlie asks, confused.

I wait for William to explain but he only glares at me. "This woman is the psychotic elf of yesterday," William finally says.

"I am not psychotic!" I yell (even though yelling that out makes me look even more crazy).

"Well who slaps a stranger in the middle of the restaurant you nymph!" he yells back.

"I am not short, I am 5'9! So stop calling me an elf and a nymph, you jerk!" I tell him, trying to get back my composure after realizing everyone in the restaurant is watching our little show.

Hearing this, William takes a step forward and glares down at me. I had forgotten how tall he was. He must be like 6'2" or 6'3", making me look much tinier in comparison.

Even so, I don't back down. I know he's trying to intimidate me but I won't let that happen. He glares at me and I glare right back at him.

"How do you know each other?" Charlie asks, coming to stand in between us in an attempt to separate us.

"She's the witch from the hot dog stand yesterday. Now tell me, witch, why are you following me!"

Hot dog stand? What is he talking about?

Then it clicks. William is the Neanderthal who cut the line yesterday.

I hadn't recognized him since he had been wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.

What a small freaking world.

He doesn't recognize me. Or maybe he just totally forgot about me. Yeah, that sounds more logical. But even if I tried to forget about William, the face of James, David and Olive would remind me every day. But he has no idea who I am. And I don't know why it hurts me so much that he forgot about me. Wasn't that what I wanted him to do?

My brain starts racing, _Have I changed so much that he doesn't recognize me? I mean, I don't look old. I'm only 28, and many people believe that I'm much younger than that. It doesn't help either that I've gotten much thinner since he last saw me. Having three kids to take care of and also working full time doesn't help your appetite._

It's when I start combing my fingers through my hair that I remember that I dyed my hair black. So of course, William won't recognize me, I look completely different from the curly brunette 18 year old with a quirky lively personality he met ten years ago.

It also doesn't help that I'm wearing sunglasses.

I look at William. He looks angry. His jaw is tight and his eyebrows are furrowed down, just like James does when he's mad. I study him trying to find more similarities between him and the triplets.

James and Olive look exactly like William. There's no denying it. One look at William and anyone would know he's their father. There are the obvious traits: the black hair and the piercing icy blue eyes. But there are also the subtler things; like the shape of their eyes, the same jaw, the same cheekbones. Even their eyebrows look like William's.

Because his outward appearance is so different from William's, it is not so obvious with David. But right now, William is standing just like David stands; feet apart and facing outwards. I've told him many times to stand and walk correctly because he ruins a lot of shoes by walking that way. But he never listens. I realize David wasn't trying to make me mad. He just couldn't help himself.

"I'll ask you again, why are you following me?" William says, snapping me out of my inner monologue.

"Following you?" I laugh.

William's frown gets even more pronounced at this.

Yeah, William I'm making fun of you. I know how much you love that. "You sir, have given me a good laugh!" I say wiping a fake tear from my eye.

"Do not mock me," William grits through his teeth.

This man might look like my children but he has none of their personalities. This man is proud and arrogant.

"Please don't give yourself too much credit. The last thing I want to do is see your face again," I say calmly, taking a seat at the table.

William scowls. I don't think he knows how real those words are. Maybe he thinks I'm exaggerating. But the truth is that I really really really wish I didn't have to ever see his face ever again. I tried so hard to just bury my past and live with the consequences.

"Who are you? Is this some kind of joke? Are you a journalist? Paparazzi? Did my aunt send you? She's trying to make me look mentally unstable so she can take over the company, isn't she?" he snaps at me.

He runs his hands through his hair as I've seen him and David do so many times. He's like an old song from your childhood that you memorized years and years ago and then you finally hear it and you sing along to it, and you wonder how in the hell you never forgot it. That's what William is to me right now. An old song.

But for him, I guess I'm nothing worth remembering. To him I was probably one out of hundreds of other girls he slept with. Of course he wouldn't remember me. His life didn't change that much after that night, as mine did.

But still, does he not remember me or does he not recognize me? There's only one way to find out.

I take my sunglass off. Letting him see my hazel eyes, I stand up and look into his icy blue eyes but still I see only anger. I grab his shoulder and push him down into his seat. "Geesh dude, paranoid much?" I say, repeating the same actions and words from the first day I saw him.

I think I see something pass in his eyes pass, like a small moment of recognition. But it's gone so fast that I think I must have imagined it.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" William asks, after trying to steady his anger.

He truly doesn't remember me. I don't know why it hurts so much. It shouldn't hurt like this but it does.

I want to yell at him and say something sarcastic but I fight back my words. Charlie is here and the way he's looking at me, I know he must think I'm crazy. I don't want him to think Jane's family is completely nuts. I've always considered myself to be one of the sanest members of my family, and if Charlie thinks I'm crazy then there's no hope for the rest of them. He would literally think we all should be locked away in an asylum. I decide I'm going to try to win Charlie over for Jane. She has always been there for me, putting her life in hold just to help me out and recover from my mistakes. I'm going to charm Charles and make him see how great Jane is. And for that I have to ignore William.

"Hi!" I say directing my attention to Charlie and ignoring William. "I'm Jane's sister," I say extending my hand to him for a handshake. He hesitates before shaking it. _Great Lizzy, you've managed to scare Jane's future boyfriend._

But then my words finally sink in, and his face gets transformed into a big smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jane's sister. You're as beautiful as Jane!"

"That's such a lie but I'll take it," I say, smiling at him.

Charlie has this kind of energy oozing out of him; such innocence and charm. I immediately like him. He and Jane are perfect for each other.

Even if he is British.

"Please sit down. We already ordered but they still haven't brought the food out. Would you like something to drink?" he says, calling the waitress over and motioning me to sit down.

"Do you know what you want to order?" the waitress asks me.

"I'll have a coke," I tell the waitress.

"Anything else?" she asks.

"You wouldn't happen to have a Big Mac would you?" I joke.

She scrunches up her eyebrows.

"I'll take that as a no," I whisper, opening the menu and burying my nose in it. I don't know what the majority of this stuff is. And the prices are astronomical. I could fully well pay the rent with the cost of a meal here.

Student loans and triplets have sucked up my salary.

"What do you recommend?" I ask Charlie.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I usually come to Manhattan just for business so I never get to tour restaurants, but Darcy here," he says slapping William's back, making him cringe, "has been living here for quite a while now"

"I usually don't like recommending food. I detest hearing people whine to me later about how they don't like it," he says with a serious voice

"Do you think so lowly of your taste palate that you think everyone will hate the food you recommend?" I ask.

"No, I think highly of my taste palate. It's the taste palate of others that I think so lowly of," he responds sharply. I can sense that he doesn't want to continue with the conversation.

_Whatever_, I think; _I didn't even want to talk to you._

I give up trying to find something that I might like and hand the waitress the menu saying, "Give me the greasiest plate you have… Actually, make that two plates and put one in a to-go box," I say, remembering I have to bring back a plate for David, who will eat up just about anything.

She raises her eyebrows in surprise. I bet none of the skinny girls who come here ever order like I do.

"Oh, and can you bring me the sweetest desert you have first, and then bring out the entrée?"

She nods her head and quickly goes away

I look up at Charlie, who's sitting in front of me, and William, who is sitting beside him. Charlie is smiling at me and he looks like he wants to laugh. And William, like always, is unreadable; he's absolutely expressionless. I swear, a potted plant has more personality than he does.

"You have desert first?" Charlie finally says.

I nod my head not trying to go deeper in the conversation, remembering the same conversation with William from ten years ago.

"That's quite strange," Charlie says, looking at me and then William. "How do you two know each other again?"

"He cut in front of me in the line for the hot dog stand," I respond.

"I did no such thing!" William says.

"Oh, yes you did. Don't lie."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are."

"How about we agree to disagree?" William grits through his teeth, clearly losing his patience

I'm getting more teed off by the minute. I try to control it and hold on to my patience, clearly having a better outcome then William. My experience raising his kids comes in handy for this.

_I can't believe I got impregnated by this jerk._

I'm seriously considering the idea that I was drugged that night.

I remember that I have to be nice today since I want to give a good impression to Charlie. I watch him as he looks back and forth between me and William, as if he were viewing a tennis match.

"So, Charlie, my sister sent me in her place because she had a surgery scheduled at the last minute," I say. "but she wanted to come!" I quickly add when I see his smile fall. "She told me to give you her number."

I take out the post it note that Jane gave to me for him, with her information and a short explanation.

"Thank you," Charlie says, looking at the note and smiling again. "You're the 24 year old sister right? The microbiologist?"

I look at him curiously trying to understand what he's saying.

"Jane told me about her sisters," he added when he saw my confusion. "You have black hair so I'm guessing you're the 24 year old microbiologist sister."

He thinks I'm Mary. This would be so awkward if William did remember me, since right now he would be thinking he'd slept with a 14 year old girl. I want to laugh at that but I manage to suppress it.

I look at William fidgeting in his seat. It seems as if he's listening more attentively to the conversation now, but the tense look on his face makes me think he's just trying to find fault with me.

"No," I respond. "You have me confused. That's my younger sister Mary. She has short black hair, and I have the long black hair."

I look at William and he seems to relax with my answer. I wonder why.

"Oh. Then, which one are you?" Charlie asks.

"I'm the single mom of three who works in a supermarket and is trying to catch a rich husband so he can maintain my bastard children, who by the way are of different men," I say, starring at William.

Charlie looks embarrassed that I heard their conversation, but William looks unaffected by this.

"If you're looking for an apology, you won't find one here," he finally says, taking a sip from his drink.

"Oh, I know I won't get an apology from someone like you," I say calmly.

Charlie jumps in, trying to lessen the tension with, "So what are you doing here in Manhattan? Are you visiting?"

I shake my head. "I'm moving back to the city. I've been here around a week, and it's actually the first time I've gone somewhere that hasn't been the store, school, my parents' house, work or my apartment. I think if it wasn't for Jane making me come here, I would have never taken the time to explore a little more Manhattan."

"So nice of Jane," William says with sarcasm.

I turn to him, "What are you really trying to say? Just spit it out!" I glare at him.

"I just think it's a little convenient that Jane had an unexpected surgery, and that you just mysteriously decide to move here a week after Jane meets Charles."

My mouth hangs open at his deluded implication. He thinks Jane planned all of this so I could meet Charles? And do what? Date him?

I look at Charles and he looks completely embarrassed by his friend's antics.

"Aw darn, you caught me. I took my three children out of school, moved them all across the country, changing states, just so I could meet a guy my sister likes and steal him away from her. Who, by the way, I had never met and before I had gotten here, I thought could be a potential rapist-murderer."

William scowls at me, clearly not liking the fact that I have made him look like a complete idiot. Charles looks like he wants to laugh.

"No offense," I tell Charles, thinking how I kind of called him a rapist-murderer.

"None taken," he says, trying to hide his laughs with really poor coughs. "By the way, how old are your kids?" Charles asks after controlling his laughter.

I think about how I'm going to answer him since William is here. He hasn't shown any signs of recognition but I can't be so sure. If I tell Charles their real ages, William might be able to decipher that they're his children. And then who knows how he would react.

A shiver of fear runs through me, _He could even try to take them away from me._

"The oldest is 7," I lie, "the middle one is 5 and the baby is 3."

"Oh they're little," Charles says, as the waitress comes and puts our food in front of us. Mine being a small plate of what I think is a small pie sprinkled with seeds that look too healthy to be in a dessert.

Bird food I think. Utterly and purely bird food.

"Yeah, they're small but they fill up my whole life," I say smiling at Charles.

"What are their names?" Charles asks.

"My oldest is called James, the middle one is David and my baby is named Ol-" I stop suddenly in mid name. If William ever remembers me, he will find it very weird that I named Olive after his sister's doll. "Olpa!" I spew out, cringing at the only name I could come up with quickly.

"Olpa?" Charles asks, his eyebrows raised; clearly thinking I gave my child a hideous name.

"Yeah, as in the Greek goddess of… war. Her name means… small warrior," I say, completely making up this information on the spot. "It's totally chic," I tell him. I just want to slap myself.

"Olpa," Charles whispers underneath his breath. "Cute," he finally tells me, giving me a wide smile. Only Charles would think of saying that name was cute.

I look at William and he's twisting a napkin; something Olive does when she's uncomfortable. William's uncomfortable.

Maybe he's uncomfortable talking about my children. Even though they are his children. But, then again, he doesn't know that.

"What happened to the children's' father?" William asks.

His voice startles me. I completely thought he wasn't paying attention, or that at least he was disinterested. He probably wants to bother me about how I'm raising my children without a father figure.

"… or fathers?" he adds.

I want to slap him again for that.

"He was an inconsiderate jerk who left me and I truly want to have nothing to do with him," I say glaring at him.

"So… tell me more about your kids. What are they like?" Charles says, interrupting my stare-down with William.

I wouldn't usually talk about my children with strangers because I think it would just bore them. But Charles looks genuinely curious to know about them.

"Well for one, if they were here I would probably be kicked out of this restaurant, especially if I was here with David. I'm not saying they're bad kids, because they're not. It's just that they can be… " I stop trying to find a word to describe Olive and James. "… intense," I finally say. "Especially my oldest and youngest; David is different from them. He just can't sit still; he has so much energy," I explain, loosing myself in thinking about my children.

I know I must be smiling like I usually do when I think about them.

"He's like a little tornado, but I love him."

"Wow! You get really excited and happy when you talk about them," Charles says smiling at me.

"They sound like you haven't taught them how to behave," William grumbles.

I glare at him. _Now I'm a horrible mother?!_

"I have taught them plenty, but they are little right now and they behave like any normal child their age," I say bitterly.

"Children should learn how to behave from the time they are little, or else when they grow up, they will be a bunch of rebels. Just the kind of people who grow up to be drug addicts, thieves or, at best, gang members."

"Are you insinuating my children will grow up to be that?!" I ask in shock.

"Well, they're clearly heading that way," he responds simply.

I stare at him. He's talking bad about my kids. Little does he know, he's insulting his kids also! Yet another reason why I should never tell him about them. He will completely ignore them and probably look down at them. I bet he would never show them off; completely embarrassed by their having a mother like me. And I can just imagine the smile falling off of Olive's face once she notices her father doesn't want her or even like her. No. I will never do that to my kids.

"I would recommend a hobby for your middle child. Something he can spend all his extra energy on. A sport possibly?" William says, interrupting me from my thoughts. He's sitting there expressionless. But seeing into his eyes, I can tell he's annoyed, mad even.

_What reason does __he__ have to be mad?_

"He already plays sports. He used to be on his school soccer team back in Atlanta," I say, annoyed. I don't need William telling me how to raise my kids.

"Well then, since sports aren't working you should try music, piano maybe, since it requires more discipline." He runs his fingers through his hair, a sign he's clearly getting irritated.

I think about this, it sounds like a good idea but of course I won't admit that to him.

Charlie's phone starts ringing; he picks it up and looks at it. "Sorry guys, its work." He looks at me, "Do you mind if I take this?"

"Not at all," I say, motioning him to answer.

Charles stands up and hurries to the men's' bathroom. Now it's only William and me, alone. I wait for him to mention something about what happened ten years ago, but he never does. He probably has forgotten all about me. Why wouldn't he?

I think about how olive would love to be here right now. She would probably be asking 100 questions a minute. How would William act with her? He probably has no idea how to behave around kids. He would be so awkward around them. James and David would definitely hate him the minute they found out who he was. Olive would be the only one glad to know who he is. She would be a total daddy's girl.

I look at William as he eats, trying to be subtle and trying to not get caught. He's aged well. He looks around his 30's. 34 or 35 maybe? He is still absolutely gorgeous. He would be even more handsome if he didn't have that ever present frown in his face. He's dressed impeccably well. He doesn't have a suit on, just a dress shirt with a vest and a tie. He must work in some office, probably works for Charlie or something. I start thinking about all the questions Olive might ask me about him; this might be the only time I can find answers to those questions.

"What kind of music do you like?" I blurt out.

"Excuse me?" he says, looking up from his food.

"You look like an indie rock kind of guy," I say, remembering what Olive told me yesterday.

"I don't have time to listen to music," he says plainly, going back to his food.

We remain quiet for some time; our forks the only sound coming from the table. "Did you ever get your hot dogs yesterday?" I ask him.

"They weren't for me," he answers, irritated, "and no I didn't."

I want to yell at him 'screw you' and never talk to him again. I don't need to be tolerating Williams's attitude. I have enough with the attitude shared with his offspring to last me the rest of my life. But I'm doing this for Olive and her immense curiosity about her father.

"So you're saying you don't like hot dogs?"

"There all right I guess," he says, stabbing his steak with his fork.

I slump back in my chair defeated. It's easier to talk to a lamp then it is to talk to William. _I'm sorry Olive I tried, I really did._

"Is your last name Darcy?" I ask him, thinking about how Charles keeps calling him that.

"What makes you think it's my surname? It could very well be my first?" he says looking up at me.

Darn, I forgot I'm not supposed to know his first name.

I see something flash in his eyes, but it quickly goes away in a second. It almost looked like he was hopeful for something.

"Well I can't imagine a mother ever naming her child Darcy. Too much of a girl's name," I finally say.

He looks down at his food again. "Yes, Darcy is my surname."

We are silent for the longest time. It even seems as if Charlie is staying in the bathroom in purpose.

"I'm sorry, we're going to have to go," Charles says, coming back from the bathroom.

Finally I think.

"There's a work emergency, but thank you for giving me Jane's number. I'll call her to reschedule," he says, as William stands up exhaling. Probably out of relief he won't have to be in my presence anymore.

"That's fine. I have to be getting back to work," I say looking down at my phone.

"By the way I never got your name," Charles says.

I look at William to see if his paying attention, but he's too distracted by something in his phone.

"Elizabeth. but you can call me Lizzy," I tell Charles.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Lizzy," Charles says smiling.

"Your bill sir," the waitress says, putting the bill in the table.

William takes out his wallet but I beat him to it and give the waitress my debit card. I don't want a single thing coming from William. Many women would jump at the opportunity to let someone pay for their food, but not me. I want to let William know that I don't need him.

Charles laughs, something I'm beginning to figure out he does quite a lot. "Wow, Darcy I think that's the first time a women has your bill," Charles says, slapping William on the back.

"Yes, I think you're right," William responds, never taking his eyes off of me.

Charles comes and hugs me and says good bye before he leaves, but William didn't even have the decency to say good bye. He just turns and leaves. He has no manners whatsoever and probably hates me because of the incident from yesterday.

_Well, I'm sorry to tell you William. But I hate you more._

* * *

"I mean he looks like a nice guy, but I'm telling you, Jane, be careful with him. You still don't know him well. You still don't know if he's a rapist murderer…OH MY GOD what if he has a basement full of beautiful blond women angels he collects! Jane, you have to leave him NOW!" I tell Jane.

I'm just coming out of work and I'm exhausted. I worked from 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening. 12 freaking hours. I was actually almost falling asleep driving, when Jane called me to see how my meeting with Charles went.

"Lizzy you're so dramatic," she says, amused,

"I'm not being dramatic. Seriously, I would be careful around him especially since his name is Charles Bingley. Such a creepy name," I shiver, trying to make my point.

"Have I told you today that you're very prejudiced?"

"No, my dear sister, you haven't."

"Well, I'm telling you now. By the way, are you going to the Lucas's fundraiser tomorrow?"

"I don't know," I tell her. "Charlotte mentioned it but I don't want to take the kids out. Plus David is grounded from the incident yesterday," I tell my sister sincerely.

"You have to come!" Jane wails. "I'm going to be alone if you don't come! Please come! You can leave the kids with Mary. I know she won't mind babysitting them," she begs.

I let out a long breath. I really don't want to go. I don't mind leaving the kids with Mary. I know she will take good care of them, but I do mind being around rich people who think they're better than everyone else. But I also know I have to start repaying Jane for all her help she has given me these 10 years. I know she says she didn't mind helping me out, but I still feel in debt with her. So if my sister wants me to go to a damn fundraiser, I will go to a damn fundraiser!

"Ok, fine. I'll go," I say bitterly.

"Yay!"

"Jane, do you think I can call you later? I'm about to enter my apartment and see how much destruction was caused by tornado David," I tell her as I open the door to my apartment.

She laughs, "I really don't know where your kid got that personality."

"I don't know either," I say sincerely, since I know for certain William does not act like David does and neither do I.

"Nucleic ac- acids… a-a-are the molecules that make up D-D-DNA," I hear Olive stutter.

I quickly say my good-byes to Jane and put my phone in my purse.

"An extremely important sub-substance that all cellular organisms use to store their ge-ge-genetic information."

I walk in the dining room where Olive is standing, giving a small speech, and David and James are sitting in chairs listening to her. Mary is sitting down also, but is typing away on her computer; probably work related.

"The most common nuc-nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic a-a-acid," Olive keeps stuttering.

I lean against the wall just staring at Olive talk about science and her brothers who look bored listening to her. Well David looks bored, James at least has the decency to act like he's listening. I take my time to analyze them. I just saw their father again and now I spot things that are similar to William that I've never realized they have. Like the small moles that are down David's neck that can be confused for freckles. Or the way Olive is rocking back and forth on her toes, a sign that she's nervous.

"Boo, you suck!" David yells, throwing her a piece of fruit he was eating.

"Stop it!" Olive yells at him.

"You stop it!"

"I'm telling mom!"

"I'm telling mom!" David repeats.

"Stop mimicking me!"

"Stop mimicking me!"

"I'm stupid," Olive says, smiling.

"Yeah, you are!" David laughs.

"Daviiidddd!" Olive whines.

I step up. "What's happening here?"

All three of them turn around. Even Mary turns when she hears me. She's wearing her normal attire of all blackness and darkness, with heavy black makeup on her eyes. She's would be really beautiful in only she didn't dress in such a creepy way.

"I'm practicing for the project I'm going to present tomorrow in front of class," Olive says, "but I just can't do it, I keep stuttering." she says, slumping in her chair defeated.

"We're here to help her," David grins.

"I don't think throwing food at her will help," I tell him.

"Hmm… you're right," David says thoughtfully. "Maybe I should try throwing something else," he says with a big smile in his face, and heads towards the kitchen.

"Don't you dare David!" I yell at him.

"Well, I'm leaving now that you're here," Mary says, standing up from her chair. "I have work to finish."

"Thanks so much, Mary! I owe you!" I yell at her as she walks out the door. She just waves her hand in goodbye as she shuts the door. I'm going to have to call her to ask about baby-sitting for tomorrow.

"It's just that I get nervous when I have to speak to people or in front of people. I don't know how you do it, mom," Olive says, groaning as she throws her head on the table.

"Just memorize it, honey, and practice," I tell her, massaging her head. "I'll help you out after I take a nap. I'm so tired, I just need to sleep for half an hour before I come to make you guys dinner," I tell her, kissing the top of her head.

"By the way, I need you to sign something for me," James says, taking a sheet of paper from his backpack.

"Oh, me too," Olive says, taking a sheet of paper from the middle of her book. "David has a permission form also, but he doesn't want to do the project on the same thing as me and James are doing it on. He says he would prefer to go with you to your work. That way he knows you will give him a perfect score… He's too lazy, if you ask me," Olive says, handing me her permission slip.

I grab both of the sheets. They are asking me if I give my consent to both of them to spend a day in a business or any work related place. That way they can do a research project about what they learned and if they think that field of work would be compatible with them.

"A teacher is going to be with us," Olive quickly says, when she sees my hesitation. "Me, James and two other kids have already decided on what business we want to do our project on, and guess what?!" she says excitedly.

"What?" I ask.

"The business we asked to research has approved for us to go there!" she squeals. "Please, mom! Pleeeeeease say yes! This is a huge company that I would love to work for one day, and they never never never accept children to tour the place, but they accepted us!"

I look at James to see what he might say, but he is quiet. "I'll take care of her," he finally says.

"What company is it?" I ask.

"It's the Pemberley Company!" Olive squeals.

"Never heard of it," I tell them honestly.

Olive gasps. "Mom, it's the biggest computer and phone manufacturer! You have one of their computers!" she says, pointing to my laptop on the table. "I've been dreaming about designing computers for this company since I could walk!"

This I do remember, olive has never been a normal girl. While some girls played with dolls she always preferred to play with her brother's hardware toys. Since she was five she's been destroying old computers and then rebuilding them again.

"Both of you really want to go?" I ask them. They both nod their heads.

"Fine," I say, signing both of the consent forms.

James grabs his form and puts it in his backpack. "I'm going to my room to finish my homework," he tells me. I nod my head as he leaves.

I look down at the table and spot a mug. Weird. _Did they drink coffee?_ I pick it up and take a sip. _Nope, not coffee but tea._

"Olive, did you drink tea?" I ask her.

She blushes, embarrassed by being caught, "Yeah, I've never had real tea, just sweet tea, and I wanted to taste the normal hot tea," she says, clearly lying.

I raise my eyebrows, showing her I didn't buy into her lie. "Tell me the truth, Olive."

"Okay, fine. It's just-just…" she flails her arms around trying to come up with something and finally gives up. "… it's embarrassing," she says, looking down at her hands.

I kneel down in front of her. "Oh, princess," I say, raising her chin with my finger, "you can tell me anything. I won't scream at you."

"It's just… I feel closer to Dad that way."

My breath catches in my throat.

"In what way, honey?" I finally muster the courage to say.

"In the drinking tea way. I just thought maybe he was drinking tea at the same time I was and… I don't know… like that would make me feel closer to him. I know, weird…"

I don't know what to say. She looks so sad right now; so small and defenseless. I just wrap my arms around her small little body and hug her. But I'm too tired and my mind can't work properly right now.

"I'm going to go to sleep right now; I'll talk to you about this after I wake up, okay?" I tell her. She nods her head, wiping a tear from her cheek.

I don't want to leave her crying, but I'm so tired I might pass out from exhaustion. As I head to my room, my eyes close. I fall into my bed; my mind is still clouded and tired and I can't think straight. I close my eyes for about five minutes when I hear someone scream and then James saying, "You are so in trouble, David!" I quickly get up and head to the living room, picking up shoes in the hallway as I walk. I have to clean today.

I get to where they're standing, James and David, starring at Olive who is drenched in Kool-Aid.

My eyes go quickly to David who is holding a pitcher of Kool-Aid.

"Nope, drinks don't help either," he tells me innocently.

"David," I say, "what do you think about taking piano lessons?"

* * *

**A/N: So there you go tell me what you guys thought, I made it long since I didn't update in quite a while. **

**The triplets are going to pemberly! Just for a day though…. **

**I'm super excited about the next chapter since that's the Lucas party the one pride and prejudice starts off at. I want to change that scene a little bit maybe include some other scenes from the book that happened a little bit further in the timeline. I have a question would you mind if I changed a little bit of the timeline? Even though I already changed it a lot but the way the scenes work. Or do you want me to stick to the book order?**

**also would did you guys think of Darcy's and Elizabeth's meeting?**

**Please let me know! And please review that is what keeps me writing! It helps me update faster too!**

**Thanks to my beta Julianabr again! Whose the grammar queen!**

**Btw she didn't correct the authors notes, so all of my bad grammar is totally my fault.**

**Like always review and I will give out virtual cereal!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ANSWERING TEAM CEREAL QUESTIONS (sorry but it's the Special K kind, no frosted flakes for you guys have to help fight obesity)**

**So the question everyone was asking is if Darcy recognized her.**

**A reviewer said that I should do a Darcy point of view chapter since the last chapter Darcy was shown as a little jerkish. **

**But the thing is that I wanted to do the whole story from elizabeths point of view, just learn what she knows. **

**But I trust your opinion of you guys a lot since you were the ones who recommended a flashback so I decided to do a Darcy point of view.**

**Me and my beta (julianabr) went back and forth for a whole week trying to figure out if we should post this chapter. At the end my beta convinced me to post it. **

**So here's last chapter from darcys point of view. I hope you guys enojoy it**

**Oh and thanks for sticking with this story.**

**Gracias a los lectores en español que han seguido leyendo esta historia y dejando comentarios diciéndome lo que piensan acerca de la historia. Sus comentarios me animan a seguir escribiendo pues me gusta ver que tengo lectores de diferentes países y lenguajes **

**Agradeço também aos meus portugués leitores que lêem minha história. **

* * *

I start counting down the seconds.

_Ten, the number of unsigned documents I have on my desk. _

_Nine, the number of people waiting on them._

_Eight, the number of times my secretary has reminded me about them in the past hour._

_Seven, how many times I have thought, 'what am I doing here?' today._

_Six, the number of days I have gone without proper sleep._

_Five, the hour at which I fell asleep last night (well, this morning)._

_Four, the average number of hours I sleep each day._

_Three, the number of people I actually trust._

_Two, the number of people who have changed the course of my life._

_One, the number of nights I have had sufficient sleep in my adult life._

_Zero, the number of people waiting for me when I get home._

I smile as my watch goes off just as I finish my countdown, alerting me that it's nine in the morning and in 15 minutes I have to be in a board meeting.

Ever since I can remember, numbers have been a central part of my life.

'_Ten more years and all of this will be yours_,' I remember my father telling me.

'_Nine more days until your sister is born_,' I remember my mother saying.

'_Eight more minutes until you give your valedictory speech_,' my teacher told me.

'_Seven more hours until this chapter of your life closes,'_ my sister told me the day before she turned eighteen.

'_Six hours she stayed here, waiting,'_ the barista told me.

Six hours.

I shake my head from these thoughts as I align the pencils perfectly on my desk.

I don't like disorder. I detest confusion and disorganization. Charles tells me I suffer from OCD, that I'm an obsessive perfectionist lad, but I disagree. There is nothing obsessive about liking everything to be neat and orderly.

I fix my shirt cuffs as I grab some paperwork that has to be done. Infinite numbers and letters all align perfectly for my view. Pages of figures and graphs showing me the fruits of my hard labor.

Georgiana tells me that I should spend less time stuck in my office surrounded by numbers and more time with people and having fun. But I'd rather spend my day with numbers than with people. At least with numbers, you know what to expect; you know the answers, you can predict the outcome. With numbers, I can understand the big picture. With people, not so much.

Numbers have been my loyal companions all my life. They have been there through all my problems and tragedies. They are really the only stable thing I have. They never change.

So instead of socializing, as Georgiana would prefer, I throw myself into work and numbers. For over 15 years, I've been swimming in endless letters and digits, drowning in them. I've never even pulled myself up to breathe. Except that one time. For one week. Seven days.

I hear a knock on my door and a female voice say, "May I come in?"

"Yes, you may," I respond.

"Good morning, Mr. Darcy. Are you busy?" my Mrs. Reynolds asks. She has been working here since before I can remember. She was my father's secretary before, and now she is mine.

"Busy in what kind of way, Mrs. Reynolds? There are many definitions for 'busy'. 'Busy' as in 'full of activity or work, engaged in action, occupied'? Or more of the 'busy' where I am not at leisure?"

She raises an eyebrow in inquiry, her face showing me a stern countenance in reply.

Then she starts laughing, her gray hair falling into her face as she shakes her head. Any other person would be truly mad. But I've known her my entire life. She's more a grandmother to me than anything else.

I sigh and give her a slight smile, "Yes, I'm busy, but I have time to hear what you have to say."

"Well, I came to remind you of the signatures we need from you. Especially concerning four of those papers," she says pointing at the papers on my desk. "Have you read them?"

I shake my head in resignation.

"Well, sir," she says, controlling her laughter as she opens a folder in her hands. "The Walter and Miriam School for the Gifted has four students who want to tour the place for a report they're doing. They wrote some very compelling essays as to why they wanted to come here for a day."

I think about this. I really don't like having children in the building. They represent the extreme edge of the unpredictability of people. Just thinking of the noise and chaos as they run through the halls gives me a headache. I also don't want a liability issue if one of the little delinquents breaks something and hurts themselves. The last thing I need is some parent filing a lawsuit.

"I don't know if that would be a good idea. Too much risk to the company," I tell her honestly, if not completely truthfully.

She rolls her eyes knowing the real reason is my problems with noise and disorderliness.

"Well, I think it would be a great idea. You should seriously look over some of these essays and resumes. These are no typical children. Their I.Q. scores are unbelievable. Robert and Mathew," she says picking up two of the papers from her folder, "both geniuses in the science department. Both of them are ten years old and their level scores are what you would expect of a college student," she says in awe, her eyes becoming big as she inspects the papers. She picks up another two papers. "William and Olivia, brother and sister, are both also ten – I imagine they are twins," she says, scanning the papers in front of her. "William is a prodigy in the math department. Quite a talent too, says here that he was on his old school's math team, winning second place at the national level. And Olivia was accepted at Walter and Miriam's School for the Gifted because of her exceptional talents with robotics and mechanics. Her essay was my favorite; she has so much passion for such a little girl! And she completely idolizes you, by the way. She mentioned you were her hero and that her biggest dream was to meet you one day." She closes her folder and looks up at me. "William, are you really going to thwart little Olivia's dream because you are worried about noise? I think you should reconsider and let these children come here for a day. They are exceptional children."

I think about what she's said. They don't sound like the unruly children I see in stores throwing tantrums. Robert and Mathew seem like good kids, even if they do like science; something I was never really good at. William's background kind of reminds me of myself at that age. I loved math and I still do. We even have the same name. And Olivia reminds me of my sister's old doll who sits on her shelf in her room. She still hangs on to it after all this time, saying it reminds her of happy memories. But most of all, Olivia reminds me of my father, who loved tinkering with anything and everything. Especially computers. He built this company with his hard work and tinkering.

"I need to know, William, so I can tell the school. If you don't want them here, I will need to call them right now so they can tell the children to pursue another company."

For some reason, the thought of the smile falling off Olivia's face makes me distressed. I don't want to be the reason for this little girl's sadness. Especially since she considers me her hero. And for some reason, I feel a pang of jealousy when I think about these children going to a different company.

"Call the school, and tell them it's fine if they tour the place."

She smiles at me. "I knew you weren't heartless, William," she says. Walking out, she stops. "Oh, by the way, William, you're late to your meeting," she says sweetly as she closes the door.

* * *

"Charles, I'm not going to go with you to meet your new angel-of-the-month," I tell Charles, who is running, trying to catch up to me as I head to my board meeting. A flash of red hair appears in front of me, stopping me from walking further. I let out an exasperated sigh. Charles is trying to convince me to go to lunch with him and his new mystery girl. Poor lad, women use him like he was a puppet on strings. Can't he see they are only after his money?

"I'm telling you, Darcy, she's different. She's smart and sweet, and I know for a fact that she's not after my money," He tells me, already knowing what I'm thinking. We've known each other for 22 years; we can practically read each other's minds. "She's a doctor and she volunteers her time in a clinic for underprivileged people who can't afford to see one. And she doesn't get paid! Does that sound like a woman who is after money? She's truly an angel, Darcy," he implores me.

His cheeks are red from trying to catch up to me, making his freckles more pronounced. His big blue eyes are entreating me to reconsider. He looks like a child right now; he has so much innocence even though he is 32. I think that's the reason why women are always taking advantage of him. It always falls to to me to rescue him from the clutches of these predatory women.

Charles is a hopeless romantic, and never sees these women for who they are.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to find words that will convince him that I'm right. "First of all, you've had so many angels, you make Victoria's Secret envious. Or did you forget the angel you swore fell from heaven two months ago?" I ask him. "And secondly, all women are after money."

He starts laughing. "Oh, Darcy," he chuckles, "are you making a joke?"

I frown at that.

"Charles, I don't have time for this. I have to go to a meeting," I say impatiently, walking past him.

"The girl from the café wasn't after your money!" Charles yells.

I turn around to face him and see a decided look in his face.

"Maybe this girl will be like your café girl. Please, Darcy, please meet her and tell me what you think," he begs.

I'm still in shock at what he just said. He mentioned the café girl. He mentioned Elizabeth. Even though I told him a year ago that I was through looking for her and

I never wanted to be reminded of her again. Charles must really like this girl if he is using the 'Elizabeth card' on me.

Nine years I spent looking for her.

Nine whole years.

I had moved to Manhattan just for hoping to find her.

_No, Darcy, don't think of her. Stop thinking about Elizabeth. You've moved on. _

"You have to relax, Darcy," Charles says looking up at me. "When was the last time you took a vacation? And don't tell me it was when you took a week off to be with Elizabeth, because that was over ten years ago," he tells me with a concerned expression.

I look at Charles, my best friend since childhood. If he wants me to meet this woman, I will meet her.

"This is the last time I will meet one of your angels, Charles," I tell him pointedly, as I run off to my meeting.

"You said that last time," Charles says, chuckling.

* * *

"_I hear Pemberley corporation has a net worth of $75 billion!" a redheaded woman squeals to her blonde companion. _

"_And it doesn't hurt that the CEO is one hot piece of body. Just look at him!" the blond friend loudly whispers._

I can sense all the women staring at me as I sit in the restaurant waiting for Charles. I don't know if they think I can't hear them, or if they think I'm not paying attention, or if they just don't care. Elizabeth once told me that I was attractive, and that's why I captured the attention of so many women. What she didn't know is that it isn't really me or my face and body that gets the attention, but it is due to yet another number: My 'net worth' which seems to float above my head and follow me everywhere I go.

I look down at my hands and I noticed that I have completely destroyed my napkin, making it totally useless. I quickly put it down, hoping no one sees me. If my parents taught me anything, it was manners. Never give people something to gossip about. Even if it's something as small as my habit of twisting my napkins when I'm uncomfortable.

"You're late, Charles," I tell him, as he sits in front of me at a table on the patio. I thought being outside would help me breathe and, for at least some moments, hide me away from the predatory glances inside the restaurant. However, I was mistaken and all the women have followed me outside.

"I'm sorry. Caroline was having some problems and she asked me to help her," Charles says, his cheeks red again from running.

If there's one thing I don't envy my friend for, it's having a sister like Caroline. Don't get me wrong, I don't detest her. She has to be the only other woman I talk to that is not my secretary or my sister. It's just she's really overly dramatic.

"You know who else is late?" I ask Charles.

He feigns ignorance, even though I know he knows. "No, I have no idea, Darcy. Who?"

"Your angel," I grumble.

"_Can you imagine being married to a man like that?" I hear another woman whisper_

"_I only need a night with him, that's it," I hear another voice say. "One night is all it takes and I'm pregnant," she giggles._

"_Can you imagine the child support check?"_

"_I heard he's the only living heir to Pemberley…"_

"_I wouldn't mind him being my baby-daddy…"_

"_$75 billion!"_

"_One child and all of that is mine…"_

I try to drown out all the voices. Charles seems ignorant to what's happening, probably thinking of his angel. He thinks all is goodness in the world and no woman would love him only for his money.

He is so naïve.

All women are gold diggers.

Well, Elizabeth was an exception.

No, Darcy, stop thinking about her.

"Jane looks like an angel. An angel that has come down from the heavens," Charles says lovingly.

I roll my eyes at this, "If I remember my bible correctly, the angels that fell from heaven became demons."

Charles ignores me and chuckles. "Jane is an angel… I can't wait for you to meet her. She has beautiful blond hair and gorgeous dark blue eyes," Charles says, snapping me back to the present. "I'm telling you, Darcy, she's perfect."

"_Who's his friend?" I hear someone whisper._

"_That's Charles Bingley, heir to Netherfield Hotels."_

"_Well, I want him. I've always liked redheads. Imagine how much money __that__ family has," she giggles._

I tense. Hearing this, I vow that no woman is going to use my friend for his money. He doesn't deserve that. He is the only goodness and kindness left in this world.

"You say that about every girl you meet, Charles," I say, trying to sound disinterested in the conversation; trying to make him realize this girl is no different from the rest of them.

Charles laughs, clearly knowing what I'm trying to do. "Jane is such an angel. Did you know that she just moved here to Manhattan? She used to live in Atlanta with her sister, who's a single mother, helping her raise her three children. Jane said that she was going to try to arrange for me to meet her sister, too."

My anger starts to boil. Can't Charles see what Jane is trying to do? "I would not like to meet a woman like that," I tell him honestly. "Think about it, Charles. She's a single mother with three children, I bet each one from a different father. She must be waiting to catch herself a rich husband so she can stop working at the local supermarket, and make the poor guy maintain her and her bastards. I bet your beautiful angel just wants you to meet her sister so you can marry her," I tell him, taking a sip from my soda.

This is so obvious to me; I just don't get how Charles doesn't see it. It's clear this Jane woman is trying to set him up with her sister. Does he really want a woman no one else wants (If anyone wanted her, she wouldn't still be single)? She's probably had those children just trying to catch a man and keep him by her side. Or maybe she's looking for a child support check.

I'm about to explain all this to Charles, when I see him staring at something over my shoulder.

"May I help you?" he asks.

"Well actually, yes," a sweet, melodious female voice says from behind me.

I know that voice.

It's the voice that haunts me in my dreams. Sweet as honey.

I turn around, knowing that once I do, I will probably wake up from this dream.

But I don't wake up.

Instead, I see a woman who looks like she must be in her mid-twenties or younger. She's wearing a flowing skirt with a white blouse, her long black hair falling in waves down her back. She looks like something that came out of a fairy tale book. She looks like a nymph. She's beautiful, but not the beauty I've been searching for the last ten years.

Her hair is too dark and not curly enough. She's too thin. Her sunglasses keep me from seeing her eyes, but I bet they are not the soft brown I'm hoping for. And the face that is supposed to be full of life and joy, is formed into a frown.

No. This is not the woman from my dreams.

This woman is all wrong. My heart falls as I realize that she is not my Elizabeth.

Even so, I feel like I do recognize her from somewhere else. Ahhhh… She's the crazy woman from hot dog stand at the park.

"You!" I say, standing up knocking over my chair. I'm furious, less angry about the hot dogs than I am that she is not my Elizabeth.

"Really, G-d?" she says looking up at the sky. "What have I done to deserve this?!" she yells.

I want to laugh at her theatrics. So she does recognize me.

As I look at her, I see different emotions cross her face. It's as if she is battling with herself. Finally, she walks towards me with a decided look in her face.

And slaps me.

The little elf slapped me!

I check myself from hitting her back as I glare at her. She's turning red from how angry she is.

Why would she be mad? It should be me who's angry! I'm the one who just got slapped!

This is a whole new level of crazy.

"What's happening here?" Charlie says, standing up from his chair. I want to roll my eyes at him. Can't he tell? This crazy woman just slapped me. I look at the people around us, all with shocked expressions on their faces and whispering to each other. They are all amazed that a woman just slapped William Darcy.

The William Darcy.

I wait for her to answer to Charles's question but she only glares at me, so I speak up.

"This woman is the psychotic elf from yesterday," I say simply, knowing Charles fully well knows what I'm talking about. He heard me rant about it for a whole hour yesterday.

"I am not psychotic!" the imp yells, as she rips off her sunglasses. Poor woman, she's making it easier for me to prove her dementia. Some strands of her black hair have fallen into her face. Her anger is evident as she stands there scowling.

"Well, who else slaps a stranger in the middle of the restaurant, you gnome!" I yell back at her. I am not going to let a crazy person win an argument against me. Especially since we have captured the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

"I am not short, I am 5'9"! So stop calling me an elf and a gnome, you jerk!" She says, her voice getting quieter at the end, as she spots the people watching us.

I want to laugh at this. This is so hilarious. The nerve of the woman to call herself tall when she's craning her neck to look up at me. I have to give it to her, no one ever argues with me this way. I step forward and glare down at her, trying to control my laughter. Her eyes become wide as she realizes how tall I am, but then she straightens up and a frown takes hold of her tiny face. She's trying to let me know she's not intimidated.

Cute.

"How do you know each other?" Charlie asks, coming to stand in between us.

"She's the witch from the hot dog stand yesterday. Now tell me, imp, why are you following me?" I ask her, trying to get her mad to see how she will react.

I have to admit getting her mad is quite entertaining.

No woman has ever stood up to me like she has.

Except for one. The one I have been looking for since the day I found out she didn't read my note. Since the day the barista told me she stayed in the café for six hours, crying.

The woman straightens her skirt as she blinks. I finally notice the color of her eyes: brown. My brain wrestles with this. She can't be Elizabeth. She looks too different. Can ten years change a person that much?

One, two, three times she blinks.

She's confused. I can see it in her soft brown eyes.

I remember watching Elizabeth blink to get her composure back. But I shake the thought away. This angry demon can't be the quirky and joyful girl I met ten years ago.

She just can't be.

The woman in front of me is full of hatred and resentment.

She starts combing her hair with her fingers. She curls her pinky in a strand of hair as she's deep in thought.

I choke on a gasp of air, as I recall watching Elizabeth across the table from me, twirling her hair, deep in thought.

No. This isn't Elizabeth, I tell myself. It can't be her. No one could change that much.

Suddenly I feel a rush of anger as I realize what must be happening. This girl is trying to imitate Elizabeth. My aunt is trying to make me see things that aren't there. She's trying to break me.

Anger boils inside of me as I think of this.

She has started to look at me, examining me from head to toe. She still hasn't given me an answer to my question.

"I'll ask you again, why are you following me?!" I snap at her.

"Following you?" she chuckles. I realize I could lose myself in her honey-like laugh, all warm and inviting. But she does not intend for this laugh to be either warm or inviting. She is laughing at me, as if I'm a fool.

I frown.

"You, sir, have given me a good laugh!" she says wiping a fake tear from her eye.

"Do not mock me!" I grit through my teeth.

"Please don't give yourself too much credit. The last thing I want to do I see your face again," she says, calmly taking a seat in our table, like she owned the place.

I scowl at her antics.

She's teasing me.

And only one woman I know gets that honor, and it's not this crazy imposter.

"Who are you? Is this some kind of joke? Are you a journalist? Paparazzi? Did my aunt send you? She's trying to make me look mentally unstable so she can take over the company, isn't she?" I snap at the paid actress my aunt has hired. I run my hands through my hair.

I swear I'm going mad.

"Geesh, dude, paranoid much?" she interrupts my thoughts, grabbing my shoulder and pushing me down into the seat.

Time stops for a moment.

_Geesh, dude, paranoid much?_

That's what she said. That first day in the café, asking me something about contact lenses. She pushed me down into my seat, sat at my table and said to me, "Geesh, dude, paranoid much?"

Oh my God. This is no actress. This is Elizabeth.

This is Elizabeth.

This is Elizabeth

**This. Is. Elizabeth.**

I want to explode from excitement. But I quickly try to hide my feelings away. A good thing, as I realize she hasn't given any signs she recognizes me.

Wait. She doesn't know who I am.

She has forgotten about me.

She has forgotten about us.

The day I left her to go to work, I was so excited she would call, so excited to see her again. I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend. I was really ready to propose to her that day, but I knew that would just scare her off. But that day I knew. She was it for me. She was the one.

I had never met a woman like her. With so much life and energy and mirth. She didn't know who I was, and didn't really care. She had no clue I was William Darcy with a net worth floating over my head. All my life I had been treated differently because I was a Darcy, but Elizabeth treated me like she would treat anyone. She teased me whenever was possible and even laughed at me. When she told me she hated expensive restaurants, I wanted to kiss her.

The day we went window-shopping, as she called it, I had to restrain myself from buying her everything she touched or even glanced at. I had seen so many women laughing and enjoying themselves when they went shopping with their boyfriends or husbands, but inside of me I always thought the men were idiots. Couldn't they see the women were only happy because they were spending someone else's money? She wasn't after my money and anyone could see it.

With Elizabeth, it was different. She enjoyed that day not because I bought her stuff – because I didn't. She enjoyed herself because she was with me. She was happy just to be hanging out with me. She didn't need me to buy her anything. My presence made her happy. Just me.

The day she approached me in the café I thought it was a joke. Charles and Georgiana were constantly giving me a hard time that I would never talk to a woman, even if she fell from the sky. And even if I did try to talk, I would be too socially awkward and she'd run away.

I had never felt so alive in my entire life, before or after, as I felt that week.

When I got home, I told Georgiana and Charles all about the woman from the café. How she didn't know who I was. How quirky she was and the weird things she would do. How much fun I had with her. That's when I decided I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her.

The next day I was too much of a coward to ask if I could spend the rest of the week with her. When I finally got the courage to ask, I almost laughed out loud when she asked me if my boss would mind me taking vacation time off.

If only she knew. I was the boss.

She was extraordinary.

I loved the way she had dessert before her dinner. Or the way she didn't care what people thought and liked to dance in random places. Or how she made me loosen up and try new and different things, like paintball. I loved that she only cared about good food and company, not how fancy the restaurant was. And I loved the way she ordered a burger without one thought about the calories.

I loved every single thing about her.

All her weirdness and quirks. Her babbles and rants. Her random facts and the moments of awkwardness.

I loved all of it.

I come back to the present as she stands before me, ten years later. I look at her soft brown eyes. She's looking at me studying me, as if she was waiting on something. Waiting on what, I have no idea.

But she doesn't remember me.

And it hurts…

Really badly…

"Who are you?" I finally say after trying to get my breath back. "And what are you doing here?"

Languid, weary. That's how she makes me feel right now, and I hate it. I have never felt so weak in my entire life. My mind and body are just spent. She sucked up all my energy and left me lifeless.

And all with a simple glance.

She looks at me and I see a flash of pain in her eyes. Even though I am the one in pain. I was obviously not important enough for her to remember.

Her eyes change, and a decided and defiant look fills them.

"Hi!" she says cheerfully, directing her attention to Charles and away from me. "I'm Jane's sister."

Elizabeth is Jane's sister.

I try to hide my shock from her.

Of course she would be Jane's sister. Best friends falling in love with two sisters. The cliché of all this really humors me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Charles says with a big smile. Of course he would be happy about anything to do with his angel. "You're as beautiful as Jane!"

I glare at the both of them. Charles is grinning broadly at Elizabeth and Elizabeth is smiling back. Is she attracted to Charles? I look at Charles. Does he like Elizabeth? I wouldn't put it above him since he falls in love with different woman every day.

The thought of Charles with Elizabeth feels me with jealousy.

"Please sit down," Charles says. "We've already ordered but they still haven't brought the food out. Would you like something to drink?" he asks Elizabeth

I want to correct him and tell him I ordered for him since he was late but I choose otherwise.

I sit down beside Charles, realizing that sitting beside Elizabeth would be torture for me at this point. Ten years of looking for her. Praying to see her. And when I finally do, she doesn't know who I am. All she knows is that I'm the guy who called her an elf, so I doubt she really wants to sit beside me anyway.

"Do you know what you want to order?" the waitress asks her.

Hot chocolate I think. She loves hot chocolate. But it's not cold enough outside. She'll want a coke.

"I'll have a coke," she tells the waitress.

I want to smile. Not everything has changed.

"Anything else?" the waitress asks.

"You wouldn't happen to have a Big Mac would you?" she jokes.

This makes the waitress scrunch up her eyebrows in confusion.

I have to stifle a laugh. She's still the same Elizabeth with her weird jokes that no one gets.

She whispers something underneath her breath as her eyes scan the menu, confused. She doesn't like expensive restaurants, so I doubt she'll find what she wants.

"What do you recommend?" she asks Charles.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I usually come to Manhattan just for business so I don't get out to restaurants much, but Darcy here…" he says slapping my back. I cringe at his touch. He knows I hate people touching me and invading my personal space. And if someone invades said personal space, it makes me turn into, as Charles puts it, 'an OCD monster'. "Darcy has been living here for quite a while now," Charles finishes saying.

I glare at Charles. He knows I hate being put on the spot. Now Elizabeth is looking at me expectantly. I can barely remember my own name whenever I'm around this woman. And now he's making me speak?

"I usually don't like recommending food. I detest hearing people whine to me later about how they don't like it," I tell her honestly, thinking about the time Caroline told me to order something I liked for her. I ordered her a burger with everything, the same way Elizabeth used to love. She immediately started whining about all the fat and the calories.

Her complaining literally gave me a migraine.

"Do you think so lowly of your taste palate that you think everyone will hate the food you recommend?" she asks, leaning unconsciously towards me in her chair. I try to control my breathing. Having her so near me is making me want to shake her and make her remember me. Make her remember about us.

"No, I think highly of my taste palate," I tell her. "It's the taste palate of others I think so lowly of."

"Give me the greasiest plate you have. Actually, make that two plates and put one in a to-go box," she tells the waitress.

My ears perk up at this. Two plates. Does she have someone else at home? Is she involved with another man?

No, don't think negatively, Darcy. She's probably ordering something for dinner also.

"Oh, and can you bring me the sweetest dessert you have first, and then bring out the entrée?" she smiles up at the waitress.

She's still the same Elizabeth. Eating her dessert before her dinner. I feel proud that I know why; it's like I'm in on a secret.

The waitress looks confused with her order but doesn't say anything. But I can tell the waitress likes her by the way she smiles and walks away. She's never smiled before when I've eaten here.

I envy Elizabeth, because of the way she converses with people, putting them at ease, making them like her.

I remember being in London with her and how easily she made friends. She'd talk with everyone we met. The florist, the waitress, the store clerk; she'd even strike up a conversation with the person standing in line in front of us. The awkward guy sitting by himself in the café.

I loved her for that – her friendly nature.

"You have desert first?" Charlie finally asks her.

She nods her head, her black hair falling into her face. She brushes her hair from her face with such a swift and delicate move, it makes her seem even more beautiful.

"That's quite strange," Charlie says suspiciously. "How do you two know each other again?" he continues, clearly remembering our emotional interaction. He looks at Elizabeth and then at me with a knowing smile.

Oh, God. Charles remembers I told him Elizabeth always ate her dessert first.

"He cut in front of me in the line for the hot dog stand," Elizabeth snaps.

"I did no such thing," I snap back.

We continued fighting, as she won't admit that she was wrong. I was completely in front of her, she just never noticed me because she was too busy with her phone. I try to keep the argument going, so Charles won't engage her in flirty banter anymore. I hate to admit that watching them smile at each other fills me with jealousy.

She's dangerous.

The term nymph fits her so well. The Greeks described these dangerous godesses as able to strike their victims dumb, bring madness, and bring unrelenting infatuation.

I feel exactly like one of those unfortunate mortals.

I desperately try to hold in all I've wanted to say to her these past ten years.

I try to distract myself with numbers. I count the tiles in the floor. The number windows. The numbers of brunettes and blondes. Peoples with and without glasses. Then I combine and divide these numbers over and over again, trying desperately not to think of anything else. If I think about her, I won't be able to keep it all back.

"You have black hair so I'm guessing you're the 24 year old microbiologist sister?" Charles asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I go stiff when I hear this. Elizabeth is 24? That would hae made her 14 when I met her. My god I slept with a minor!

"No," she responds, "you have me confused with my younger sister, Mary. She has short black hair, and I have the long black hair."

I immediately relax. She wasn't 14. Now thinking about, it she did mention a younger sister who she used to star gaze with.

"Oh. Then, which one are you?" Charles asks.

"I'm the single mom of three who works in a supermarket and is trying to catch a rich husband so he can maintain my bastard children, who by the way, are all from different fathers." Elizabeth answers, glaring at me.

Elizabeth has three kids.

Elizabeth has three kids.

Three.

The number three swims in my mind. It swims to the darkest corners of my consciousness, visiting my billions of neurons, then taking a tour of my cerebral cortex, the number three dances in my neurotransmitters and receptors, and finally makes its home deep in my mind. I will never be able to move it out of there.

Three kids.

She just didn't forget about me, she did something much worse. She removed me and the thought of me completely from her life.

She made a life with someone else.

With another man.

Not me.

God, how I wish those three kids were mine.

"If you're looking for an apology, you won't find one here," I finally tell her.

"Oh, I know I won't get an apology from someone like you."

"So what are you doing here in Manhattan? Are you visiting?" Charles asks, in an attempt to keep things pleasant.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm moving back to the city. I've been here around a week, and it's actually the first time I've gone somewhere that hasn't been the store, school, my parents' house, work or my apartment. I think if it wasn't for Jane making me come here, I would have never taken he time to explore a little more Manhattan."

"So nice of Jane," I mumble sarcastically.

"What are you really trying to say? Just spit it out." Elizabeth spits out, glaring at me.

This is not how I imagined our reunion would be. This is not what I want.

But watching her smile and talk with Charles turns me into the green-eyed monster. "I just think it's a little convenient that Jane had an unexpected surgery and that you just mysteriously decide to move here a week after Jane meets Charles."

Her mouth hangs open. She's completely shocked by my statement. I know Elizabeth would never do such a thing, but her sister just might. She's the same as all the other scheming women.

"Aw, darn! You caught me. I took my three children out of school, moved them all across the country, changing states, just so I could meet a guy my sister likes and steal him away from her. Who, by the way, I had never met and who, prior to getting here, I thought might be a potential rapist-murderer."

I frown at this. That is not what I was trying to say. I was not trying to offend her. I was trying to make her realize that maybe her sister had other plans by making her come here today.

She ignores me and continues to talk with Charles. I look at her closely and think about how much she has changed. Her hair, the weariness in her face, her too-thin frame. But the greatest difference is that Elizabeth is now a mother.

I snap out of my reverie when she looks directly at me and answers a question of Charles. "The oldest is seven," she says. She must be talking about her children. "The middle one is five and the baby is three."

They are very little, I think. They couldn't be mine. She had her first child 3 years after meeting me.

"Oh, they're little," Charles says, voicing my same thoughts.

The waitress puts my plate in front of me and I watch as she sets a miniature pie in front of Elizabeth. It looks horrible. Elizabeth must be thinking the same thing as me because she frowns when she sees it.

"My oldest is called 'James', " she says answering some question Charles asked her as I was starring at my food. "The middle one is 'David' and my baby's name is 'Ol-" she hesitates before answering and then continues, "'Olpa'!"

Olpa? Why would she give her child such a hideous name?

"Olpa?" Charles asks.

"Yeah, as in the Greek goddess of…war. Her name means… small warrior…its totally chic," she says.

Something is wrong here. The Greek god of war is Ares. Or maybe she was thinking of the goddess of battle… but that's wrong too, she's named Athena. Is she mixing it up the Greek and Roman gods? But, no, that would be Mars.

Something is not right here.

This whole conversation about Elizabeth's children is making me very uncomfortable. I can't stop thinking about the fact that while I was out looking for her, she was making a life with another man.

Another man… who?

I need to ask Elizabeth who this man is. Do I know him?

I look down at my hands, where I've destroyed another napkin.

"What happened to the children's father?" I blurt out, unable to stop myself.

She looks startled that I even spoke. She must have forgotten I was here.

"…Or fathers," I add quickly, wanting to know if she had children with more than one man.

"He was an inconsiderate jerk who left me, and I truly want to have nothing to do with him," she says, her voice reflecting anger.

So it was only one guy, and he left her. Idiot. The man must have been truly mad to leave a woman like Elizabeth.

I try to keep track of the rest of the conversation, but lunch went by in a blur. All I could think of was the number three. It floated at the edges of my brain; taunting, mocking, teasing me.

Three children. My Elizabeth is a mother of three.

The only other thing I could remember about the rest of the meal is the sparkle In her eyes whoever she talked about her children. It was nice to see the joy and mirth replace the anger and bitterness on her face.

When Charles went to the bathroom he winked at me, so I knew he had done it on purpose to give me time with her. I have no idea what he was thinking.

I kept my conversation with her short and to the point. I was afraid if I spoke too much I would just blurt out who I was. I'm William. From London. From the café.

I kept trying to concentrate on numbers in my head. I counted everything I could think of, from the number of times a waiter said, "What would you like to drink?" to the numbers of threads per square inch on the table cloth.

When Elizabeth asked me if 'Darcy' was my last name, for a sliver of a second I was hopeful she had remembered who I was. That she remembered my first name was William, but wanted to know my last name. But that dream was soon crushed when she continued, saying she knew it wasn't my first since 'Darcy' was such a girl's name.

When the lunch ended I couldn't say goodbye because I knew I couldn't hold in that we had met before.

Charles and I walked back to work. I must have been more silent than I usually am, because he asks, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I respond simply, trying to deflect his curiosity.

"You just acted weird in there; you were acting pretty mad with Lizzy."

Lizzy. He called her Lizzy. Charles must know my Elizabeth and this Elizabeth are one and the same. He must.

"Is it because she reminds you of Elizabeth?" he asks.

I look up at him and I can tell he's worried for me. But he must not realize who she is, since he's not going on and on about how I finally found my café girl.

I shake my head in answer, "I just have a headache."

Charles looks like he doesn't buy it, but he doesn't pressure me to keep talking. He chuckles as he shakes his head, "And then you ask why people think your autistic."

"I just want this day to end," I tell him honestly.

What I don't tell him is that I just want to forget about Elizabeth.

* * *

I glance at the clock. Two in the morning and I'm just getting home. Life for me has always been based on precise moments of time. Punctuality is what I govern myself with. If we don't respect time, what does that say about ourselves? Time has always existed and it will exist way after we're gone. And time comes hand in hand with numbers, my old friends. I look at the clock as it ticks away the seconds that are whispering a sad goodbye to me.

Seven is the number Elizabeth said was the unluckiest.

Six is the number I hate the most. The number doomed by fate.

Five is the number I have the most in common with. It's the only odd number deemed in math to be an 'untouchable number'. That's me. Odd and untouchable.

Four is the number of times Charles has called me today to see if I'm all right.

Three is the number of Elizabeth's children.

Two, one and zero are the numbers on my clock. It's exactly 2:10 in the morning as I enter my kitchen. My kitchen, all stainless steel and neat lines. Pristine and clean just how I like it. Disorder and disorganization give me a headache.

I start the routine I go through every night when I get home. Take the plate from the fridge that the maid cooked for me, and stick it in the microwave. When it's warm enough, I sit at the kitchen island and align the utensils perfectly before I begin. Fork, spoon and knife: Three pieces of silverware.

Three.

I grunt in exasperation. Everywhere I look now that number follows me. I put the spoon back in a drawer since I won't need it. I look back down and realign the remaining two utensils.

Much better.

Silence pervades the room. Usually I treasure the silence, but tonight it just feels wrong. I feel suffocated by it.

I try to distract myself by counting the mail I just received. Nine envelopes to be exact.

I open one of them. It's a fundraiser for a hospital.

I think Charles said that he wanted to go he was pleading me to go with him.

I decide to go to help distract myself from thought of Elizabeth. I have to stay busy because counting isn't working as well as it usually does. So many of the numbers remind me of her, especially three and six.

I pick up my trash and throw it away; wash the plate and the cup I drank out of. I hate going to sleep with the house a mess even if it's just something as little as a dirty cup.

I change clothes to go to sleep. I brush my teeth, counting every brush stroke.

I crawl into bed and I lay there, thinking about today, about Elizabeth. Something wasn't right with her, and it wasn't just the effect of ten years on her face. She was hiding something. I know it.

She has a secret.

I wish I could be her journal. The place where she writes all her secrets.

Write on me, I'll memorize every sentence every word and letter. Tattoo on my mind every noun and verb. Let her tears soak my pages as she fills me with her deepest thoughts, those locked away in her heart. I would be the key to free her from her secrets and pain. Yes, I would love to be her journal.

Even more, I wish I could be her love again.

But I know I can't. My family would throw a fit. I can't imagine the face of my aunt Catherine as I tell her I'm in love with a single mother of three.

No, I could never do that.

As the heir to Pemberley and all our other businesses, I have a duty to marry well. I am expected to marry a respectable woman from my own sphere, who would be the mother of my children. The children who would carry on the Darcy name. The children who would carry on the legacy after me.

And Elizabeth is just not that woman.

If I tried to be with Elizabeth, my parents would resurrect from the dead, just to slap some sense into me.

I start counting again as I drift off to sleep.

One, I have to forget Elizabeth.

Two, I have to rip her away from my mind and memories.

Three, I must forget Elizabeth, as she has forgotten me.

* * *

**A/N I hope you guys liked it. It was really hard to write this chapter since it was in a darcy point of view**

**I really don't know how a lot of people can write from the point of view from different characters**

**My props to them**

**Anyways im so happy since I already wrote the next chapter and my beta has it editing right now.**

**Now I don't know if I should just post it up immediately or wait till Saturday that way I know that I have something done to post. Since Saturdays are the days that im trying to post updates in.**

**Im trying to give myself deadlines since that's the only way I can do my work. **

**I have serious procrosination issues**

**But thanks for everyone's reviews honestly I read all of them and I take each of them in consideration to see where I should head the story in**

**Next chapter the Lucas ball. I'm so excited about it since I get to join that scene with other scenes**

**So excited!**

**Anyways please review and favorite and follow since that's the only way I know people are liking the story**

**Like always you will get virtual food. This time virtual pizza!**

**Oh by the way special thanks to my beta julianabr! Because of her you guys can read peacefully without having to get headaches!**

**So shes technically a superhero…..**

**my bets are in batman...but she could also be green lantern...idk**


	8. Chapter 8

**ANSWERING TEAM PIZZA!**

**the question everyone asked was about Darcy being a big OCD guy with numbers. **

**well I read somewhere (I don't remember where) it said that the smartest people have the highest possibility of having OCD.**

**so Darcy is super smart so he looks like he would have OCD**

**OK so I updated so late because I read this chapter after my beta sent it to me again edited and I was mad with myself since I didn't do a good job writing this chapter I was not contempt with it so I added some things sent it to my beta, but I was being left with so many reviews that I didn't keep my promise of updating so here is the next chapter...**

**be warned that it might have misspelled words because I was rude and didn't give my beta a chance to edit my new updated version because I felt bad that I hadn't updated.**

**so be warned people who love things written correctly...**

**sorry about that...**

**oh and also WARNING WARNING WARNING LITERRALY PEOPLE READ THIS WARNING! remember when I asked if I could add another scene to this scene?**

**well...**

**you asked for it so don't get mad at me when you don't like the scene I added...**

**so yeahhhhh...**

**sorry...**

* * *

"MOOOOMMMMMM!" Olive yells from the living room, "I CAN'T FIND MY SHOE!"

It's seven in the morning the first time in weeks where I can just stay in and sleep for a while. And what do I do? I wake up early to cook breakfast for the triplets. It's the first time in months where I can be there to send them off to school with a good start, because usually I'm already at work.

This morning is actually going quite well, because last time I packed them up for school there was crying and yelling and throw-up on the carpet. Olive's missing shoe is nothing.

"Don't yell! I can hear perfectly fine!" I holler to Olivia.

Many people say that they love getting their kids ready to go to school. They say it's sort of like bonding time for them.

They are totally lying.

It's only great if you like arguments and pleading with sleepy children at 7 in the morning.

"Mom, sign these papers," David says, throwing some papers at me while I'm cooking the eggs.

Last night I couldn't sleep, just thinking about William and our encounter. I thought about how he would feel finding out that he has three children. I know he would hate it. He doesn't seem like the type to like children. And I'm sure he would want to take them away from me, seeing as he thinks I'm a horrible mother, so they can be raised by nannies or whoever he's dating at the time.

Today I woke up determined to be the best mother ever. William thinks I'm a horrible mother? Well, I'll show him that I am raising his kids to be the best they can be.

Not that what he said yesterday bothered me.

Because it didn't.

Really.

That is why I am up early and cooking them breakfast. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. (Mothers know these kinds of things.)

"David, you had all of yesterday to give me these papers and you're giving them to me now?" I say n complete exasperation. "Your brother and sister gave me their papers yesterday to sign."

"Ugh! See what you've done, nerds! You've set a high standard that I now have to live up to," he yells to make sure they can hear him from wherever they are.

This is normal for David; he's always loosing stuff or forgetting to turn things in time. Just two days ago he made me stop work and drive all the way to his school just so I could drop off a project he had forgotten at the house.

He's messy disorganized and overall a big mess.

While his sister and brother are organized, punctual, and perfectionist to a fault.

I grab a pen to sign, but I pause once I start reading what he's given me. "You got a 70 in English?" I ask him with a raised eyebrow.

He just shrugs.

This is not normal for him. He's a very smart boy so getting a 70 in a class where he's supposed to excel in is a warning bell that something is off.

"Mom, have you seen my shoe?" Olive asks on coming into the kitchen.

David has already started lobbing an orange toward her when he says, "Hey, Olive, catch!" Olive covers her face with her hands instead of trying to catch it, making the orange fly over her shoulder and knocking down the flowerpot behind her.

I don't have time to lecture him right now so I just give David a stern look. "Go clean it, David."

"Eeew! I don't want that!" James says, coming to stand behind me to watch me cook.

"This isn't a restaurant, James, so you're going to eat what I give you."

"Mom, you haven't finished signing all my papers," David whines. "The teacher will get mad at me, and she already hates me," he pouts.

I look at him, I want to tell him that not turning his papers in time won't make the teacher hate him more then she already does. She's hated him ever since the first day he came in and proceeded to tell her she smelled like Boloney….

…in front of the whole class.

Instead of reminding him of this incident I look behind him where the broken flower pot is in the floor "Have you cleaned the mess up yet?" I ask him.

"Mom?" Olive says, tugging on my sleeve to get my attention, "have you seen my shoe?"

"I'll eat at school," James says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I think it would be better if you cleaned it up, since I might cut myself with the glass," David answers, staring at me with those big green eyes and giving me the most innocent face he can.

"Mom, my shoe?"

The house is chaos in the mornings.

Utter chaos.

My mind gets crowded with all of their voices coming at me at once. When all three of them start talking to me at the same time, my head starts to pound. I've told them time and time again not to talk over each other.

But do they listen?

Absolutely not.

I wonder how it would be if I had just had one instead of three. That would have left me just with James. I look at him, how would it be just having him as my only child?

Right now he's standing with his arms across his chest frowning at me and looking between his siblings who are trying to get my attention.

It would be peaceful just having him around. But it would defiantly not be entertaining like it is having David and Olivia.

How I wish for a calm day without no noise.

Just one day that's all I'm asking for.

I'll even accept half a day.

Gosh how things are going I'll be contempt with an hour!

I pinch my nose trying to gather patience and drown out all the voices going around me. I start to smile when I'm finally able to do it.

But of course that's when all hell breaks loose and all three of them start pushing each other

"Ok, everyone! OUT!" I yell. "Leave the kitchen, there are too many people here," I say pushing them out of the kitchen. "No, Olivia, I haven't seen your shoe. Check your room." I look at James and say, "You will eat what I give you." I turn to David and inform him, "No, I won't sign your papers. You should have given me them yesterday. Maybe this will teach you to remember."

He has to learn to be responsible and turn things in time.

"Ok, mom, but when they call you to have a parent-teacher meeting and you have to stop work to go, I promise I will be standing beside you telling you this could all have been avoided if you had simply signed my papers," he says with a smirk.

I glare at him.

Oh, this kid is good.

I wonder where his devious mind comes from.

"Fine!" I say, snatching the papers away from him and signing. "And, James, we leave in ten minutes! Why in the world are you not ready?"

"I'm not eating that," James points at the plate. "You know eggs make me nauseous," he says simply, crossing his arms in his chest.

Great.

Not only do I get to deal with David and his devious mind, but it's going to be one of those days where James looks down on everything I do for him.

Just great.

"You're eating what I give you and that's final. This is not a discussion. I did not wake up early just so you could despise the food I cook you."

He shakes his head and stands his ground.

This is all you William. I'm not a stubborn person nor am I devious.

Really.

I'm not.

I'm always impeccably organized, as well. No disorganization in my house. No, siree!

This must all be from William's side of the family.

Because this is defiantly not from my side.

One look from my mom and all five of her daughters knew to obey.

"Mommmm, something's burning!" David yells from the kitchen.

Crap, the eggs.

I run into the kitchen but it's too late, the eggs are burned. I quickly throw the pan in the sink and turn off the stove.

Perfect. Just perfect.

The one thing I want to do right for my children and I absolutely screw it up. Maybe I am a horrible mother. Maybe William is right. I can just see the superior look spreading across his face, if he were here.

I can even imagine him with his English accent telling me how I'm a failure of a mother and that I don't deserve to be raising his kids.

I bend over in the counter, my hands grabbing the edge tightly.

_Patience_, I tell myself. _Have patience with them and just do what you need to do._

Eyeing me carefully, James blurts out, "You know what? I'm just going to go change now," as he quickly leaves the kitchen.

"I… uhh… have to go clean something," David whispers as he follows his brother.

A lone tear falls from my eye, which I quickly wipe away.

I have no idea why I'm crying. I think I've only managed to handle the pressure of working and taking care of my three kids, because I loved them and I had no other choice. Though my sisters helped where they could, ultimately it all rested on me.

But seeing William again just brought me to my limit. Seeing the father of my children just broke me.

_Snap out of it, Lizzy! Don't waste your tears on him. He doesn't even remember you, let alone think of you, so don't bother thinking about him._

I quickly distract myself by setting up cereal and milk on the table. For _my _children.

As I finish doing this, David and James quickly come and sit and start serving themselves cereal.

"Where's your sister?" I ask them.

"Looking for her shoe," David says with his mouth full.

"You're disgusting!" James tells him with a disgusted look on his face.

This makes David open his mouth even bigger, showing off all the munched up cereal in his mouth. "Raaawwwwrrr!" he says, acting like zombie as he slowly approaches James.

James looks at me, his face telling me he is not amused by David's childish behavior and imploring me to stop him.

I want to laugh at this. I love seeing James and David interact. They are so completely different, total opposites. While David is amusing and childish James is quite and too mature for his age.

I sometimes look at James and know that if William were here that would be the same way he would react.

I don't want to stop David because I actually find it funny, and it helped me break out of my gloom. But I put on my best 'mommy face' and said, "David, stop it, and don't talk with your mouth full."

I sit down beside them and serve myself some cereal "Can one of you tell your sister to come eat?" I ask them

"OLIVVVEEEE! GET YOUR UGLY FACE DOWN HERE!" David yells at the top of his lungs.

I look at him. "I didn't need you to yell at her. I could have done that. I asked for you to go tell her to eat."

He just laughs and smiles at me causing me to laugh with him.

Sometimes I need this, I need the laughter, I know I should be lecturing him but right now I need all of this to help me forget about William.

Or better yet Darcy since for me William and Darcy are two completely different people. William is the socially awkward man who I spent a week with in England-the man who I trusted and gave myself to.

Darcy is the jerk who left me; the prideful jerk who believes me to be a gold digger slut.

Darcy is the guy who I met yesterday.

William is the father of my children.

There two completely different people

Or maybe William was always Darcy but I never noticed it. Or better yet I never wanted to see it.

I wonder how William would react if he saw this every morning. The yelling, bickering, and the rush of getting them to school on time; never mind laughing with David about some of his antics, instead of lecturing about proper behavior. I think it would drive him crazy. William doesn't hit me like the type to handle havoc very well, especially not the William from the restaurant yesterday.

As I'm thinking of all this Olive comes running into the dining room in a white dress with a denim jacket and scarf. Her wavy black hair flying all over her face, sending my thoughts in an entirely new direction.

When I was her age, I could not stand wearing dresses. I used to never think about my clothing. I was a complete tomboy, playing every sport imaginable. I used to climb every tree I could find. My mother hated this since my little adventures were never gentle on the clothing that I did wear. I thought Olive would be more like me, especially being raised with two boys; but, nope, Olivia was a girlie girl. It almost seemed as if having two brothers made her want to be even girlier, if that's possible. I can't even get her into a pair of jeans.

Just dresses. And scarves. She just loves scarves.

I still hate dresses, so that hasn't changed.

"I was thinking maybe we could head over there immediately after you drop James and David off at school. I don't know how full it will be and I want to be one of the first ones," she says excitedly sitting beside David who is still bothering his brother.

"Go where?" I ask giving her a confused look.

"To the book store," she informs me as she grabs a bowl of cereal.

"You have school today, Olive." I respond to her knowing that if olive could she would live in a bookstore so it's no surprise she's trying to miss school to go buy a book.

I often think that if she ever skips school when she's older I would easily find her since she would be in a library or bookstore.

"Mom, you told me if I got a 100 in my science class I could go to the book signing today!" she says her eyes begging me. "You promised! And I love this author plus it's the last book in the series and I really, really want it." She implores me, "You even got the office to give you half the day off so you could take me!"

David's head snaps up from his cereal bowl to say, "What? You're missing school today?" He looks at me (with the eyes again), "I love the series, too! I want to go too!"

I search my memory for anything I might have promised, and realized she was right: I did promise her the outing.

"Ok, fine. Let's go," I tell her as I stand up. "Is everyone finished because were late?"

"What about me, mom? I want to go too!" David whines.

"David, everyone knows you don't know how to read," James tells him seriously.

"Well, look at that! Mr. Robot was trying to crack a joke!" David says, teasing him.

"Ok, everyone out," I tell them as I open the door of the apartment. All three chattering kids go running out the door and down the hall.

The ride to school was full of fights and yelling, mostly from James and David who could not stop bothering each other. Thank God, I finally pull into the parking lot of Walter And Miriam's School For The Gifted.

All three of them got accepted to the school because they are all highly intelligent in their own unique way. Even David, who acts like a total idiot a lot of the time, is a small genius. I was smart in school (I was actually valedictorian), but I was never this smart.

They are scary smart.

After I dropped her brothers off, Olivia notices we are not headed to the book signing and asks, "Where are we going?"

"I have to talk to your Aunt Jane for a quick minute," I tell her, as I keep my eyes in the road. She doesn't say anything for a while as we drive, which is normal for her. She only really talks when her brothers are around. Same thing with James. Separately, they can all be quiet angels, even David. He can be talkative, but less so than when he's with his siblings.

It's when they're all together that trouble brews.

"What are you drawing?" I ask her, even though I know she won't answer my question. I glance at her in the rearview mirror and I see her concentrating hard on her sketching; her black hair covering her icy blue eyes from my gaze. She's been carrying that sketchbook since I got it for her three years ago.

"I'll show it to you when I finish, I promise" she mumbles, her gaze never leaving the page.

She looks so much like her father in this moment it's scary.

I realize I am going to have to lie when I see Jane today. I know that some day soon she's going to meet William, because he's friends with Charles. One glance at William's eyes and hair, and she will know he's the triplets' father.

I hate lying. And it pains me even more to know that it's Jane I'm going to be lying to.

* * *

"This better be good, mama bear," Charlotte murmurs as she sits in the couch.

I just got to Jane's house. I woke up all three of them – Charlotte, Mary, and Jane. They had all stayed over at Jane's apartment, since they came back from the hospital together an hour ago.

Charlotte's mad because I woke her up after they worked all night.

I can't believe my luck I was going to tell all three of them separately the story but now that I'm here I can tell all of them together. That would be better since I won't have to remember what lies I told to whom.

"Princess, why don't you go to your Aunt Jane's room and watch some TV?" I tell Olive, who is sitting beside me still drawing in her sketchbook. She gives me a weary look, but nods and heads to the other room.

"Ok, this is bad since you just sent her away, which means you don't want her to hear," Charlotte whispers. "Come on, spill it. This better be good gossip since I'm losing precious beauty sleep."

I sigh, not knowing where to start spinning my tale. "I think it's time for me to tell you all the truth," I say, looking down at my hands so they don't see my guilty face.

"Truth about what, Lizzy?" Jane asks with a concerned look on her pretty face.

"About everything," I whisper.

I had never told them about how I met William, and they've never nagged me about it. All they knew was that I slept with a guy when I was in England, and they've always respected my privacy.

So now I'm going to tell them everything. Everything, but with a few little embellishments.

I slowly start telling them about William. I try to stick as close to the truth as possible, the lies getting easier the further I go.

"So, William was hot?" Charlotte asks, with a grin in her face. "No, you don't need to tell me, I can tell by how good looking the kids are."

I get nervous when I get to the point where the lie starts.

"Yes, he was very good looking," I say thinking about William. "He looked like David, exactly like David, even acted like him."

"He looked like David?" Mary finally asks. "I always imagined him with darker coloring more like James or Olive."

"Nope," I answer. "The shape of his mouth and nose… the eyes… all just like David."

All three of them look confused. I hope I never slipped and told them William really did look like the other two. In any case, I hope my lie will at least throw Jane off for a little while, and she won't realize he's the father when she meets him.

"Well David is a cute kid also," Jane says, with a smile on her face. "So, William was from London, I'm guessing?"

"No, he was just visiting England." I cringe a little when I tell them this huge lie, I quickly look down hiding my guilty face.

This lie gets them even more confused. "I always thought he was English since you always talk about how much you hate the English," Jane says, completely perplexed.

"English people just remind me of England, that's why I don't like them," I say simply. _I have to keep the lie simple,_ I tell myself.

"So, where was he from?" Mary asks.

I think for a minute. "Um… He was an American."

"Do you know what part of America? Did he have an accent?" she asks.

Great Lizzie you had to say America, why couldn't you say Australia or I don't know Ireland? You just had to say United States.

"He had a Boston accent," I blurt out, worried that it's getting too complicated.

Damn I hope they never meet a black hair green eyed Boston man. And if they do my condolences to that poor man.

"So, William has black hair, green eyes, and is super good looking, with an awesome sense of humor and a Boston accent. Did I leave something out?" Charlotte says, looking at me.

I shake my head.

This is lie is getting out of hand. Seeing their faces scrunched up in anger and confusion is really bothering my conscious who is yelling at me to tell them the truth.

I'm one minute away from blurting out the truth.

No lizzie remember why you're doing this, one day they will meet William, and Jane especially is a horrible actress, I would have a less chance of William knowing he's a father by putting a billboard next to his house then with Jane and her horrible acting skills knowing who the father of the triplets is.

"Good. Now we can go to the Police, get a sketch artist to draw him and put out a warrant for unpaid child support," Charlotte states.

I roll my eyes at her. Typical Charlotte.

"I really have to go" I say standing up from my chair and picking up my purse "I only came to tell Jane the story, because I've had it on my mind lately." I look down at my phone "I'm late I promised Olive I would take her to the book store," I say walking towards Jane's room to call olive but I stop remembering something "By the way, Mary, do you think you can babysit them tonight?"

She shakes her head no. "I have to go to the fundraiser too tonight. It's going to help fund a piece of equipment for the hospital that I need for my work. So, I have to be there to talk it up to the donors. But don't worry, Jane asked mom about it and she's fine watching them for the night."

I look at Jane in shock, but she pleads with her eyes for me to accept.

David, James, and Olive in the same house with my mother; unsupervised. She's a mature adult, right? How bad can it get?

* * *

"See! I told you, mom, it would be crowded," Olive says, as we try to swim through all the people trying to find seats.

Olive was complaining the whole way here that we would be late and that the whole book store would be crowded. I told her not to worry that it wouldn't.

I was so wrong.

The store is packed with lots of kids with parents and a bunch of teens waiting for the book signing. We finally find a spot after several minutes of searching, but it's only one seat.

"You take it," I tell her motioning to the chair. "I'll go roam around see what I can find, but stay here, Ok? And call me when they start the book signing." She nods her head as I leave.

I start browsing through the aisles of books.

Aisles and aisles of books, and all for my enjoyment.

I love to read. I mean I really love it. I think that's where Olive inherited her passion for reading.

To me there is nothing better than the feeling of sitting down after a long day of work with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.

And nothing I mean _nothing_ beats the smell of a new book.

I stop in the classical section and grab a random book, reading the summary in the back.

"I would recommend the newer revised version. It includes footnotes," I hear a man's voice behind me say; say in a Boston accent to be precise. I didn't realize anyone was there, so I get startled and drop the book. I turn around, my hand over my heart.

The man starts laughing, "I get that reaction from a lot of women, but it's not usually because they're scared for their lives," he chuckles.

I take a good look at the guy. He's tall, around my age I'd guess. His green eyes are full of humor, with little wrinkles in the corners when he smiles. Clearly caused by years of laughter.

And the only thing going through my mind when I see him is that he's completely different from William

Reason number one he's smiling.

Reason number two William is not a flirt.

And Reason number three (the biggest reason and the one I hate the most) Darcy is not nice.

Wow Lizzy your thinking of William again.

Or better yet Darcy.

Gosh I've been thinking about him so much lately that it seems as if I'm obsessed with him.

I shiver at the thought of me being obsessed with Darcy.

Which I'm not.

I've just had him in my mind lately since I just saw him again after 10 years of abandonment.

I pick up the book I dropped and as I'm standing up I look up and the man with the Emerald green eyes is still standing there. What is he waiting on?

Oh yeah an Answer.

"You scared me," I reply.

"Yeah, I noticed," he says. "What? Are you feeling guilty about something?" he asks, his eyes twinkling with humor. I don't respond and I just turn around continuing what I was doing before he interrupted me. I hope he gets the hint that I don't want to talk with him. I'm not interested.

Maybe my mother is right and I am into the tall dark mysterious kind of guys.

It would explain how I completely felt safe with William when I met him. It wasn't because of his personality.

No because he has a horrible personality. Well Darcy has a horrible personality, William is fine.

No I felt safe with him because I was attracted to him.

Or at least I hope it was his appearance because if it was his personality then I'm totally screwed.

"Are you here for the book signing?" the green eyed man asks, still not getting the hint that I want to be left alone.

"If I answer, will you go away?" I say, exasperated.

Poor guy he's hitting on the wrong woman. He's wasting his time on me.

I hear him chuckle, "Perhaps. I don't know, I only promise something if I can always keep it. So, no, I can't promise you."

I know these types of men. He's good looking (I'm not blind, I'm just not interested), and he looks as if he's going to continue to flirt with me, so I answer with my go-to method for the shedding of unwanted flirts.

"I'm actually here with my daughter. She's a big fan of the book series," I say, expecting him to run away, like they all do when I mention my children.

If it's something single men are scared of its single mothers because that would require commitment of there part to that woman.

"Oh, that's nice. I was just there some minutes ago, but I must have missed her. I would have remembered a miniature version of your beautiful face," he says, winking at me.

Ok so that didn't scare him.

He is determined, I'll give him that. "Why are you flirting with me?" I question. "I could be married."

If the Mother Card didn't work then I'll have to use the second option of ridding myself of flirts.

Acting married.

"You don't have a ring," he says, leaning into the wall.

"I could be having the ring fixed," I say quickly.

"By using the words, 'I could be' I now know for sure you're not married. A married woman would just come out and say she's married."

I scrunch my face, knowing very well he's right. "I still think that's a horrible pick up line."

"What line?"

I roll my eyes as I go back to searching the shelf for books.

He starts laughing again, something I've noticed he does a lot. "Honey, if you thought that was a pickup line, then you've been meeting some real losers."

"I can't argue with you there," I say, remembering how completely awkward William was when he wanted to flirt with me; not to mention all the blind dates Charlotte and my sisters have sent me on.

"If you want to hear a pick up line, I will give you the best pickup line you've ever heard." I look up expectantly. He clears his throat. "I thought happiness started with an 'H'. Why does mine start with 'U'?" he says, coming to stand closer to me.

"That was really bad," I tell him, smiling at his corny line.

He chuckles, "Yeah, you're right, that was really bad. Let me try another one," he says, trying to control his laughter. "If I were a stop light, I'd turn red every time you passed by, just so I could stare at you a bit longer."

I laugh and shake my head at the utter cheesiness.

"Do you have a Band-Aid? Because I just scraped my knee falling for you," he continues.

I laugh as I roll my eyes. "That one is more bad then the last one"

He smiles as he steps closer to me "You must be a hell of a thief because you stole my heart from across the room." He says dramatically, we're both laughing uncontrollably by this point. "Ok, Ok… This is a good one," he says trying to keep a straight face. "My love for you is like diarrhea, I just can't hold it in."

We look at each other and both of us burst out laughing. I just couldn't contain it any more. I'm bent over holding my sides, thankful that there's a lot of noise in the store to drown out our cackling.

"Those are really terrible pickup lines. All of them," I finally say when I'm able to control myself.

"Yeah, but they made you laugh."

"True. Do you work here?" I ask him. Because a man like him could not be in a bookstore just to 'browse', no he's either here with his daughter or son which is not possible seeing as he has the 'forever a bachelore' vibe coming out of him

Which leaves me with the second reason.

He's being paid to be here.

He acts hurt by what I said, "You think a person like me would not be in a bookstore willingly? I'm hurt, princess."

I roll my eyes. "So, are you here working?" I ask him again.

"Yeah, I am" he pauses and looks at me with those big green eyes "but I do read."

"Uh huh… I believe you," I say dripping with sarcasm.

"I do read… and a lot. How do you think I know that the newer version has footnotes?"

"Because that's your job to know?"

He looks at me and a smile starts playing in his face. "Touché, princess, touché. I like you, princess, you're feisty."

I slap my hand in my forehead and groan, "Not again. For some reason guys always fall for me," I say dramatically, "and this is the part where I have to tell them that I don't have time for this, I have 3 kids to take care of, and that's when they usually run away."

He laughs again. He has a nice laugh.

"And this is the part where you get embarrassed, princess, because I'm just trying to make friends," he responds.

I groan again. "Yep, I'm embarrassed," I say playfully. _Maybe he would make a good friend,_ I think to myself.

He looks like he would be fun to hang around with.

"What's your name?" I ask him.

"What about this, princess," he says, "we don't exchange names and leave it like this. When you tell this story to your friends, you can tell them you met a tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious guy who you are instantly are attracted to moment you catch his eyes from the other side of the room. You look at him and he looks at you. He smiles and you roll your beautiful brown eyes. He takes that as his cue to come over and say hello. But you, of course, act like you're bored with the conversation, even though you're hyperventilating inside. He flirts with you, and you are really hitting it off. But then fate plays a nasty game and unfortunate events separate you, leaving without knowing his name."

He comes closer to me as he whispers into my ear, "Your book club members will be fainting just hearing that story." He grins. "They'll tell you that if you ever meet your handsome stranger again, you'll know that it's destiny," he says dramatically. "How about it, princess? Next time we see each other I'll give you my name. It'll be destiny."

I stare at him. "You're pretty cocky, you know that?"

He shrugs, "It's a flaw. So, how about it, princess?"

"Sure, why not? Great story, by the way, you must read after all."

I hear a roar of voices coming from where I left Olive followed by light clapping. I guess the author has just arrived.

"Well, I have to go check on my daughter, so I guess this is till next time, my dark and handsome stranger," I tell him, curtsying dramatically.

"Till destiny joins us again, fair princess," he says, with a bow and a laugh.

Well, Lizzy, it looks like your day might be getting better.

* * *

"Please, mom, don't leave me with these people," James begs me as he watches his siblings walk into my parents' house.

"I'll be back in 3 hours, James. I promise."

"What do I do while I wait for you?" he asks with panic in his voice.

"Talk to them… or better yet, don't talk to them," I say quickly after I think of last time he spoke with my parents. "Hang out with David or Olive, or do your homework," I say, ruffling his dark hair.

He frowns at me. He hates when I touch his hair. He doesn't like it messy.

He looks down at his phone, and sets an alarm for three hours. "Three hours, mom. You promise?"

I try not to laugh at his serious face. "I promise, James. When have I ever broken a promise?" I ask him.

James is in love with punctuality so I know if I promise him three hours I better keep it.

"Never," he whispers.

"And remember, James –"

He cuts me off saying, "Yeah, yeah, I remember, 'It will always be us three and you against the world.'"

I smile, "I will never leave you, James, I love you and David and Olive too much. It will always be us four together. I promise."

Ever since they were little I've told them this; that it will always be the four of us together against the world

And I intend to keep that promise.

Nothing can make me break that promise. I love my children too much.

"Three hours mom…" he repeats as he gets out of the car.

"Three hours, James, I promise."

I watch as he enters the house, his steps calculated. I can tell he's tense by the way his shoulders are placed. He looks back at me, his black shirt making his blue eyes pop more. He looks so much like William right now with that serious face.

As much as I try to hate William, I know I never really will. He gave me the most beloved people in my life.

Three little people to be exact.

With the kids taken care of, I finally get to the fundraiser.

The hospital has gone all out this year, renting a beautiful ballroom, I feel out of place in this fundraiser that is full of people with beautiful gowns and dresses. I suddenly feel very exposed when I walk in and a majority of the men start staring at me. I tug on my white, clingy dress and try to make it look not so short.

Damn Charlotte made me wear this dress tonight. I told her it made me feel like a hooker, but she laughed and asked me when I'd ever seen a hooker wearing this dress. "You have an awesome back, and you have to show it off." She said

So that's why I'm here, wearing this dress, and wishing it covered a bit more.

"Stop tugging!" Charlotte comes up from behind me, slapping my hand away.

"It's sticking to my body," I tell her.

"Good. It's supposed to do that, Lizzy," she responds.

"Why would they do that? If I wanted a dress to fit that tightly to my body, I would have ordered a smaller size," I whisper, trying not to get more attention on myself than I already have.

"You clearly need to go out more," she tells me sweetly. "Look, honey, you obviously look good, since you got the attention of most of the men here," she says, pointing to some men off to the side gawking me.

"That's because Jane's not here yet," I tell her honestly, knowing very well once Jane walks through that door there's no hope for the rest of us, no matter how pretty we look dressed up.

"Jane's not what?" Jane says, walking up to us. And, of course, she has to look perfect; she's wearing a black strapless dress that comes up to her mid-thigh, her blond hair flowing in waves across her back. She looks like she just stepped off the runway.

"Holy Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus! Is a doctor supposed to look like that?"

"I don't know, but she gives me image issues," I respond to Charlotte.

"Wow, you just annihilated all the competition, Jane," Charlotte tells her.

"We're in competition? For what?" Jane asks completely, confused by what we're saying.

"Why do we hang out with her, again?" Charlotte asks me.

"Because she's my sister and a nice person, and impossible to hate" I respond stopping a waiter passing by our little group. At least this guy has the decency has not to gawk at Jane while he stops so I can get the champagne glass from his tray.

I smile as I take a sip from the champagne.

It's been to long since I've had alcohol.

"It would be easier to hate her and just be envious of her, like the rest of the woman here, but noooooo! Of course Jane has to be nicer then 'Saint Theresa', " Charlotte tells me, as we look around the room. Indeed, all the women's eyes are throwing daggers over Jane's way.

Which honestly I don't get why they would be mad at Jane, they should be mad at their husbands who are starring.

"You know, I can hear you guys," Jane says with her sweet voice.

"Yeah, we know," I respond to Jane.

"Also, I think the store took all your money but gave you only half a dress," Charlotte tells Jane while looking pointedly at her exposed legs.

This makes Jane look down at her dress that comes to her mid-thigh. She turns to me looking worried, "Is it really too short, Lizzy?"

"No, Jane, its fine. You're perfect," I tell her, stopping her from running back to her apartment and changing. "Charlotte is just jealous that she has short pudgy legs the size of T-Rex hands, while you have legs the length of an airstrip."

"I think your confusing people's stretch marks," Charlotte tells me teasingly, her eyes going down to my stomach where the stretch marks are located under my dress.

I gasp, "I gave birth to triplets! At least I have an excuse! What's your excuse for having short legs?"

Charlotte shrugs, "Bad genetics?" I look at her and we both burst out laughing.

"Come on, Lizzy, let's go," Charlotte says taking our hands and pulling us to the dance floor. "Let's get you to forget all those baby bottles and diapers."

"My children are ten, Charlotte. Ten years old, not ten days."

"Yeah, let's not talk about that too loudly. That scares the men away, and we need to get you laid," Charlotte says with a wide grin.

"Charlotte!" Jane exclaims, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. "We don't talk about those things in public," Jane says, looking all over the dance floor which is packed to see if anyone heard Charlotte and her 'embarrassing' conversation.

"Well, Char, I don't need a man right now. And in any case, I'm not going to hide my children just to get a man's approval."

"Honey, you definitely need a man in your life," she says, putting her hand on my shoulder and looking at me with pity.

This has been a discussion that has been happening throughout 10 years. Charlotte thinks that I need a guy which I disagree in fervently. I won't give my children a father who is not there real dad.

Even though I don't want their real father to be there dad either.

It's complicated.

The thing is that I don't want to make my children live with a random guy just because I like him. And what if he starts mistreating them?

Even though there are great step fathers out there.

But still I don't want to risk it.

"I already have two," I respond. "I actually promised one of them that I would only be here for three hours, so come on, we came here to dance!" I tell both of them as I grab their hands and steer them to the middle of the dance floor trying to forget my worries and problems.

And overall trying to forget William.

We maneuver ourselves through the crowded dance floor trying to get to the middle.

The good thing is that there's a DJ so I can dance all night. We finally get to the middle and I start swaying my body to the rhythm of the music, holding my glass of champagne. If there is something I just love, it's dancing.

Dancing is my passion.

Unfortunately, none of my children showed any interest, as much as I begged them to learn how to dance.

"Hey, look! It's Mary," Charlotte tells us, nodding toward the entrance.

I try to look through the people dancing and after some minutes I finally spot her. She looks bored, like if just being here surrounded by people exhausts her. But she looks good…in a gothic kind of way. Mary being Mary is wearing a black dress (of course), with black stockings; her black hair short to her chin and the tips of her hair dyed purple. She looks around with a frown on her face. Knowing her, she's already counting down the seconds until she can leave the place.

"Sometimes I worry about her," Charlotte murmurs.

We all nod in agreement.

"I'm going to go check on her," I tell both of them.

Mary doesn't need supervision, she's a big girl. But sometimes whenever she's surrounded by people we have to check up on her and make sure she's not arguing with someone about present society or animal cruelty.

It's more about protecting her from utter embarrassment.

Jane nods. "That's a good idea. I'm going to go try to find Charles, he told me he was coming," she says as she tries to see behind me to find Charles.

My eyes go wide at this.

"What? Charles is coming here?" I ask Jane, almost spitting out the champagne I was drinking.

"Yeah," she responds lightly, not noticing how I'm glued in place from shock.

Charles is here, which means Darcy will be here, which means I get to see him, which means Jane, Charlotte and Mary will see him, too.

Oh, no. This is not good.

Not good at all.

"You should be careful with Charles, you still don't know him that well. If 'The Walking Dead' has taught me anything, it's that you can't trust anyone," I say trying to distract Jane from searching everywhere for her ginger prince charming.

This is not the time or the place for Jane to meet Darcy.

Nope, no, not going to happen.

"Has 'Dexter' taught you nothing, Jane?" I continue, "Serial killers always hide behind those 'nice boy' facades. Charles could be a Dexter!" I pause, and mumble, "… but then again, if Charles was a Dexter, we would probably all be dead by now, being fed to the fishes… but let's not think about that…"

Jane just stares at me for a minute. "A psychologist would have a field day with you, Lizzie – like a child in a candy store, not knowing which of your many mental issues to attack first."

Charlotte laughs, her drink sputtering out her mouth, her spit landing everywhere.

"Oh, shut up," I say laughing, and nudging Jane with my shoulder. "OK, go look for your redheaded prince charming while I go talk to Mary." I finally say

"Is there a Disney prince with red hair?" I hear Charlotte ask as I walk away from them, desperately trying to control my breathing.

Charles is coming, Charles is coming, Charles is coming.

The only thing running through my mind is that Charles is coming. And with Charles comes William.

Oh, God. William is coming, William is coming. William. Is. Coming.

Now I only have to make sure Mary isn't killing anyone with her words and then afterwards I look for Charles ask for Darcy and then distract Darcy from ever seeing Jane tonight…or Charlotte…or Mary.

Simple Lizzie, like stealing a candy from a child.

Well except if that child is David then his devious mind would make it extremely difficult. Or if its James or Olivia they would probably make some completely elaborate plan to keep the candy safe; Probably surrounding it with tiny robots or unsolvable math patterns.

Oh god and there Darcy's children. If his offspring are that difficult to trick I can't imagine how hard he will be.

Oh god he's going to find out.

My heart races, thinking I will see him tonight.

I start pulling on my dress trying to get it to get it to cover more, feeling even more self-conscious about my bare back and legs. "I hate dresses," I mumble beneath my breath.

I find Mary sitting on a barstool, nursing a drink. "This sucks," she says as I sit beside her.

"It's not that bad," I tell her honestly looking around at the laughing people. Everyone looks like there having fun.

"It's the first party you've been to in a long time, Lizzy. You'd be happy with anything, so I don't think your judgment counts."

"True, true." I tell her even though I'm sure Mary is the only one not having fun "Cool hairstyle by the way," I tell her, touching the purple in the tips of her hair. "What did mom say about it?"

She snorts.

She doesn't need to tell me any more – of course mom hated it.

My mother thinks her goal in life is to marry off her five daughters. And she's had it against Mary and me forever, ever since we started letting her know we weren't really interested in marriage. And the fact that we're the least attractive of the five sisters doesn't help, because it's not like it might happen without her help anyway.

Mary isn't ugly. She's actually quite pretty. But living among beautiful, gorgeous sisters like Jane, Kitty, and Lydia has really overshadowed her beauty.

I think that's why she dresses the way she does. She's just looking for something distinctive that will draw people's attention, even though she says that attention is not what she wants at all.

I can just imagine the panic attack my mother had when she saw Mary's hair. It's bad enough for my mother that Mary dyes her hair black, but now with the purple as part of the package? I bet it gave her heart palpitations. I would have loved to have been there to see it. The joy it would have brought me.

She must think that now it will be impossible for Mary to find herself a husband.

"I'm going to go find Jane, want to come?" Mary asks me, hopping out of the barstool, her petite form as tall as I am sitting down in the chair.

Like I said, Mary had it tough growing up with tall, model-like sisters. She's the short one of the family only coming to 5'1", a great difference to Jane's 5'10".

"Nah, I'm fine. You go ahead. I'm going to stay here," I tell her, by now Jane must have found Charles. So now I'm just going to try to avoid when Jane sees William for the first time.

I watch Mary's petite form trying to manage to walk through the crowded room; tapping on people's shoulders and saying 'excuse me' all the time.

"Hello, princess! It looks like we meet again!" a man with a Boston accent says behind me.

I turn around, already knowing I will be met with green eyes glowing with humor.

Sure thing, right in front of me is the guy from the bookstore. He's rubbing his neck looking up at me with his green eyes and his mouth formed into a smile.

"I think it must be destiny," he says, laughing.

"I call it stalking," I answer turning my back to him.

He hops on the barstool next to me and smiles, "Hey, I think you owe me something."

"Elizabeth," I respond, extending my hand for him shake. "And you are…?"

* * *

**SO people leave a comment saying who you think this mystery guy is**

**btw also read my new story called A Wrong Wrinkle In Time.**

**oh and also sorry if this chapter had some bits that were misspelled. my beta has no fault about it. It was all me, because after she edited it I added some bits.**

** so sorry about it**

**thanks to my beta for helping me. she's the greatest beta ever! she's seriously super good! the wonderful JulianaBr!**

**btw I started this chapter this way to show a difference about how Elizabeth's day is to Darcy's**

**Darcy went to sleep in silence and Elizabeth woke up in chaos**

**again I apologize for the lateness I am a very insecure writer and I believe everything I write is horrible, so I had to add some bits to this chapter because like I said I'm very insecure about everything.**

**anyways if you want to know what dresses Jane and Elizabeth are wearing there right below here just take the word slash and add the actual slash. I always imagined Jane to look like a Victoria Secret Angel so I looked up Victoria Secret models who would be 29 going to 30 the age of Jane in this story who were blonde and Blue eyed and I ended up with Lindsey Ellingson. so she's my Jane in this story **

**and I imagine Mary to look like the actress Emily Browning. there's a picture where she has black hair cut to her chin with the tips of her hair dyed purple**

**she's also Mary's age in this story and also the same height.**

**I still don't have an Elizabeth or Darcy.**

**anyways leave in the comments who you believe the mystery guy is.**

**as always there's free virtual food for those who do. its Enchiladas this time**

**JANE:**

.com (slash)

**ELIZABETH:**

.com (slash)shop/dresses/lurellys-backless-bow-dress/


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I Know I know I haven't updated in forever, I would love to say I'm innocent or give you guys a great excuse like my house was hit by a meteor or I was abducted by aliens. But truthfully my excuse is lame…I've been busy working studying exc exc….like right now I'm updating in my lunch break…**

**But sorry for the wait…**

**I know I know I'm an embarrassment to humanity…**

**Answering team pizza questions!**

**Omg you are so right! I was wondering if someone was going to ask me about that because while I was writing that scene all I could think was if I was them I would be yelling BS and asking her why she was telling me this stuff now (concerning the scene when Lizzy goes and tells her sisters and Charlotte who her baby daddy is the reviewer asked if Jane, Mary, and Charlotte really believed her) well dear reviewer your answer will be answered somewhat in this chapter but defiantly in the next.**

**Thank you all to all who reviewed you guys motivate me to keep on writing!**

**Special thanks to my Beta the great Julianabr!**

* * *

**Okay so it's been a while since I updated so I'm going to refreshen (is that even a word? refreshen?) you guys memory about what has happened.**

**So Lizzy slept with Darcy in England got pregnant with triplets, she thought Darcy abandoned her but he didn't he wrote her a letter she never got. Darcy is trying to forget her by going to a fundraiser which Lizzy is attending. Lizzy met this guy at the bookstore and she just saw him again at the fundraiser.**

**She also lied to her sisters about how the father of her triplets looked like….**

**I think that's about it….**

* * *

When I was in high school, there was this guy in my economics class that every girl loved: Captain of the football team, school president, and overall funny guy. I also have to admit he was really, really hot. With blond hair that shined like gold and blue eyes that looked like the Caribbean Ocean – there was no choice but to find him attractive.

Every girl wanted to date him and every guy wanted to be him.

There was only one problem.

He was a flirt and a player. That guy walked the hallways with a different girl every single day. I don't know why girls fell for him. I mean, I get it. The guy was hotter than a July day in the Texas desert. But what I don't understand is why would anyone want to be with someone who was just going to dump you the next day? Was it the adrenaline rush of being with a guy that good looking? Or did you just want the bragging rights of being with the guy everyone wants – even if it's only for a day?

You can always tell a flirt by how they carry themselves. It's in their eyes. It's in the way they smile and walk. It's in the confidence they project when they talk to a woman. You can see it in the way they seem so relaxed when with a woman they want; as if they were a predator in their native habitat.

The man sitting beside me reminds me of the guy from my economics class. The way he walks and talks with just the same ease and confidence. So sure of himself – I can see it in his eyes. He is oozing with the kind of confidence that only comes from being told you're beautiful every day since birth.

He's almost _over_-confident, but can you blame him? He was so amazingly handsome in his street clothes, never mind the custom fitted tux he's rocking right now. And the way he's tugging on his bowtie like he's not used to wearing them, is incontrovertibly adorable.

Even though there's no question about his attractiveness, like the guy from high school, he just doesn't do it for me. Unfortunately, I find William far more attractive. Tall, dark and handsome, William can wear clothes like nobody's business. His looks are sophisticated. He just reeks power . He's the type of man you would find leading large companies or running for office. The kind of man you look at from afar, know he is completely unattainable, and yet you cannot pull your eyes away from him.

Even so, when I met William, the thing I found most attractive about him was that he seemed completely oblivious about his looks. He had no clue how beautiful he was. It was as if he didn't know why people even bothered to look his way.

While the man in front of me is more handsome in a boy-next-door kind of way – the type of guy girls would fall head over heels for, the school jock, captain of a football team, the golden boy – he was nothing like William.

Or Darcy, for that matter.

"Richard Fitzwilliam, my fair lady," the man in question says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I look at him as he bows exaggeratedly in front of me, then grinning as he jumps onto his barstool.

"You didn't by any chance play football in high school, did you? Or maybe you were the senior class president?" I blurt out, still a little lost in my high school memories and having no control over my mouth.

He laughs. "The school I went to wasn't very athletic. Matter of fact, I don't even know if we had a football team." He looks at his empty glass and then at the bartender, "Can I get a shot over here?"

"So, what did you do in school?"

He grins. "'What didn't I do in school' is the question, princess," he says, wiggling his eyebrows. "Going to a boarding school where every single one of us were heirs to some dynasty has tremendous benefits," he says, with a faraway smile on his face, caught for a moment in the memories of days gone by.

I think about what he just said as he takes the shot from the bartender and downs it. I look at him more carefully, and I realize that his confidence doesn't just come from his looks. He's the whole package: Looks AND money.

Everything now makes so much more sense. But what was a trust fund kid doing working in a bookstore?

"Fitzwilliam. I've heard of that name before… Don't tell me your family is part of the mob?" I ask teasingly.

"No, my father is an earl, actually, but he doesn't really care about his title. He much prefers to run his business here in the States."

Looks, money AND a title? My mother would just love this guy. The second she spotted him, she would hound him until he married at least one of her daughters. Fortunately (for him and me… and my sisters…), she's not here.

Or, I consider, maybe he's just feeding me one of his standard pick-up lines?

"If your family is British nobility, why do you have an American accent?" I ask suspiciously. Holding my phone under the bar, I attempt to surreptitiously Google his family's name.

"Because I am an American," he responds – a little bored, as if he hears this a lot. "I was born here, raised here. And I decided to stay here with my father, since his company is here."

Stupid slow internet. It's so speedy-fast when I'm looking up stupid stuff, like the latest cat photo meme. But when I need crucial details, the information super-highway is more like being stuck in your car during rush hour.

"So how come you were working in a bookstore if your parents have money?" I ask him. _Just a little more time for the page to load…_

"Who said I was working in a bookstore?" he asks, inspecting his empty shot glass and completely oblivious to the fact that I'm stalking him on the internet. "Does this glass look dirty to you?" He waves his glass in front of me. I shake my head.

"You said, when we met in the bookstore," I respond, thinking about our interaction on the day I was there with Olive.

"I said I was working, not that I was working there_._"

"You knew that's what I thought. You should have clarified, not let me think the wrong thing," I say, clearly a little annoyed with him.

He lifts his eyebrow at my tone. "You sound like my cousin – always correcting my speech. You should meet him – total nerd. You seem like the nerd-loving type," he says, inspecting me. "And, nah… I had a day off from work and my family asked me for a favor. They own a publishing company and one of our authors had a book signing in Manhattan. So… I came to babysit, and make sure that everything flowed easily."

_Yes! Wikipedia just finished loading! _

Whoa! They call it the 'Fitzwilliam Dynasty'. So cool. It appears as though the Fitzwilliams are nobility. Just as Richard is discussing his dirty shot glass with the bartender, I scroll through the history and make my way to the present generation. Apparently, the Fitzwilliams had three children: Catherine Fitzwilliam – the eldest, James Fitzwilliam – the middle child, and Ann Fitzwilliam – the youngest.

Richard said his dad's an earl, so I'm guessing his dad is 'James'. I quickly click and, sure enough, it says that he is indeed an earl, with three kids, Richard being the youngest.

Well, damn. Richard wasn't just giving me a line. He was telling the truth.

I quickly put my phone in my purse as Richard turns towards me.

"So what do you do?" I ask.

He chuckles, as if the answer to my question was obvious. "What? My Wikipedia page didn't mention it?"

My cheeks turn red from embarrassment at being caught stalking. But I quickly get over it – nothing is too embarrassing if you know how to handle it.

"Actually, no, that wasn't in the biography. You should get that checked," I reply, trying to play it cool, like he didn't really catch me.

He glances over at me with an adorable grin. "FBI Special Agent in Charge. Criminals, narcotics, blah blah blah department," he says simply, noticing that I'm trying to hide my embarrassment.

Wow. His sexy points just went up. There's just something about a man in uniform. Especially if it includes a gun and protecting the innocent. He must really reel them in. Too bad he's not really my type, being a flirt and all. He does remind me of someone, though. I just can't put my finger on who…

His grin morphs into a mischievous smirk. "Why? You want to pat me down and check if I'm carrying?" he asks, leaning into me with his mouth almost touching my ear.

That move must really make the woman squeal, but I just find it kind of skeevy and annoying.

"There must be a hotel close by," not knowing when to stop, "so you can undress me and check."

_God, he's like a child,_ I think, shaking my head and smiling. He winks at some girls at the end of the bar. They start giggling and whispering to each other.

Typical.

"Soooo… What is an FBI agent doing at a fundraiser?" I ask, knowing full-well that people here are either rich, or accompanying said rich person. Or they work in the hospital, like Jane.

"My anti-social cousin invited me. Apparently he didn't want to come alone," he says with a bored voice.

So, he has a shy cousin. Seems impossible to believe, having experienced the decidedly not shy Richard for the last fifteen minutes. I just don't buy shyness being in his family's DNA.

But, then again, I gave birth to the perfect example of opposites: James and David.

Complete opposites.

And they shared a womb.

"He's the nerd you were telling me about?" I finally ask him.

"Yeah, that's him. Super smart guy – genius, actually. A brilliant mathematician." He stops talking as he scrunches up his eyebrows together. He's deep in thought.

William does the very same thing.

_Wow, get a grip, Lizzy! You're thinking of William again! You are so obsessed, you're seeing signs of him in random people. _

"He and his mind swarming with numbers could actually take over the world, if he wanted. He could build himself an army of robots, kind of like the Terminator. Unfortunately, he has all the social graces of a turtle... a dead turtle," he finishes saying.

I try to imagine a guy matching his description. But the only picture I can come up with is Einstein. He sounds like he must have some sort of autism or maybe Asperger's.

"Sounds like a charming guy," I say sarcastically.

He raises his eyebrows, noticing I'm making fun of his cousin. "Actually he is, once you get over his lack of personality."

Awww… Richard is protective of his cousin. It's sweet; even though he makes fun of him, Richard still loves him. Reminds me of the relationship James and David have. Those two are always fighting – mostly because David can't stop picking on and bothering James. But when it comes down to it, they will do anything to protect each other. They're brothers, after all.

"OK, let's change subjects – talking about my aloof cousin is making me feel depressed." He takes a sip from his drink and moves himself on the barstool so he's facing me. "Want to be my wingman tonight?" he asks me with a grin. "I really need one, and I doubt my cousin will help me. He's too much of an ass and it gets in the way when I'm trying to convince a woman to go home with me."

I look at him, perplexed that he's asking for my help to hook up with some woman from the party tonight.

"Why would you need me?" I ask him; because, really, this guy can get any woman he wants. He just has to smile that annoyingly charming smile of his.

He starts laughing, as if the answer to the question was completely obvious. "It's not that I need you, it's more like you need me_._" Now, this really has me confused. "It's a 'win-win' situation. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. You help me find a girl for tonight and I'll help you get a man."

My cheeks pink up a bit as I spit out, "What makes you think I need a man?"

He gives me a look that screams: _Are you serious? You so obviously do._ "I'm not even going to try to justify that with an answer. You obviously haven't gotten laid in a very long time." He eyes me up and down, taking it all in. I cross my arms self-consciously over my chest.

"How would you know that?" I say, holding myself tighter.

He chuckles. _That chuckle is starting to get __really__ annoying._

"Obviously," he shakes his head, "you're not used to all this male attention. I can tell by the way you try to cover yourself up," he says, tilting his head to my covered chest and then to our left where a group of men are eyeing me. "That either happens to women who think they are ugly, who don't have enough experience with men, who don't want the attention of men, or who are just not used to having the attention of men… Now, I lean more towards the latter, because you have to know you're beautiful. I mean, come on, look at you! A woman who feels badly about their body would never wear a dress so clingy. You have three children, so I have to imagine lack of experience is not an issue. You don't seem like a radical feminist and we are having a nice little conversation, so I don't conclude that you are anti-male…" He pauses for a moment, considering. "It's clear that you aren't used to wearing such revealing dresses, so you wanted to attract some male attention, but you are uncomfortable how much attention you have generated thus far."

I continue to stand there, a little dumbfounded, as his monologue rattles on, "Which leads me to believe that something must have happened to get you to wear such a dress. Maybe you wanted to impress someone? Or just wanted to feel better about yourself? I'm leaning towards a fight with a boyfriend. But, no… you don't have a boyfriend… It must have been a fight with your ex-husband – perhaps the father of your children – to make you want to wear this dress, and give your confidence a boost," he says concludes, still eyeing me.

It's strange. He's not looking at me like a man looking at a woman. It's more impersonal, like a doctor examining a patient. Not looking to appreciate, but looking to gather facts.

Then I remember that the man in front of me is a detective with the FBI.

Now I know what he's trying to hide under all that pretty: He's smart. Scary smart.

He looks up and, looking at my eyes, fakes a cough and glues on a stupid grin. As if he just noticed his slip and hopes he hasn't blown it. Like he hopes that I still think he's all flash and no substance.

"I don't know…" he chuckles, "I just think you need to loosen up and get yourself a man. Hey, I'll volunteer. I think you're sexy as hell!" He winks at me as he stands up. This seems more like him; the easy flirt, not the man who can tell you who you really are with just one glance.

Still trying to hide behind the carefree façade, he downs the last shots laid in front of him. However, by the way his eyes are scanning the whole room – attentive and alert, like he's analyzing for potential threats – I don't think 'carefree' is a word I would use to describe him.

His eyes, his smile, his laugh all hide a darkness that envelops his being.

For those who are looking, you can see the sadness and regret deep within his eyes. This guy has seen and lived through some terrible things. He's probably _done_ terrible, unimaginable things.

But here he is, in front of me at the bar and smiling. I wonder if his promiscuous behavior not only provides him a cover, but maybe it helps him forget the bad stuff.

As I'm looking into his smiling face and unsmiling eyes, I realize it's more familiar than it should be. It's that same smile Olive uses when she's hiding something. Huh.

"…but I don't feel like being a daddy," he says, snapping me back to attention. "I've protected myself all my life to avoid that situation… Plus, I don't want to ruin this kickass friendship we got going here," signaling his hand between the two of us, desperately trying to reassert his persona of bonhomie.

What were we talking about? Oh, yeah. Apparently I need a man and he'd volunteer, but doesn't want to ruin our 'kickass friendship'. Right. Well, good looking or not, it's clear he's got more baggage than me. And that's saying something.

On the other hand, a 'kickass friendship' might not be a bad thing. He looks like he'd be good with my kids. He's smart enough to stay ahead of them, he's clearly someone who would have no problem laughing and playing with them, and the way that he scans the crowd, I think they'd be pretty safe. He's speaking again. I have to keep my brain from wandering off.

"I'm sorry, princess, but I'm not the type to be changing diapers."

I turn and look at him. What is up with people thinking my children are four months old?

"The triplets are ten. No more diapers," I tell him.

His eyebrow shoots up when I say this. He's confused. "How... no, don't tell me… I know how… Hold up! Hold up there! Triplets?! And they're ten? How old were you when you had them? Twelve?"

"James, David, and Olivia are all ten. I was 18 – pretty young, I know."

He looks like he wants to ask me something else (probably about their father), but he stops himself. Apparently, good manners trumps curiosity in this case.

"I'd set you up with my cousin, but he hates children. He doesn't understand how children can be so clumsy and have sticky fingers 24/7." He adds, "And you're a single mother of three, so that wouldn't really work out."

I roll my eyes. Yeah, let's skip the boring, socially inept, child-hating cousin then.

"Seems like my cuz stood me up," he says, changing the subject. He continues to scan the ballroom looking for his missing relative.

I keep thinking Richard reminds me of someone: The laugh, that look that tells me he's hiding something, the way he comes off as an idiot but underneath, he's all genius, those gorgeous mesmerizing green eyes you can drown in…

_I don't want to sleep with the guy, but I'm not dead, you know…_

I just can't think straight anymore. The champagne is really clouding my mind.

_Wow, Lizzy, a few years without alcohol and you can't have a glass of champagne without getting buzzed. _

_Just great._

"Oh, well look at that! He didn't stand me up after all!" Richard chirps, looking at a group of people just entering the ballroom. "Get ready to meet my boring cousin!"

I laugh at how Richard describes him. I wonder what this prime bundle of child-hating manhood really looks like. Richard says he's a nerd, but I have to imagine he's not too ugly, sharing genes with Richard after all.

I scan the group and my heart stops.

My brain vaguely registers Charles walking into the ballroom with some people. None of them matter except the man behind Charles – dark hair combed back, impeccable tux, and icy blue eyes that are roaming around the room, finally landing on Richard and me.

Darcy has arrived.

_Oh, no. No, no, no, no! This can't be happening. _

I look between Darcy and Richard. Darcy can't be the cousin… He just can't be. Am I really that unlucky?

_OK, Lizzy, take a deep breath and don't get all excited. Charlie could be Richard's cousin. Yeah… That makes sense. They are always both laughing. Yeah. Charlie must be his cousin. _

I breathe and try to relax.

_Nothing to worry about, Lizzy. Of __course__ Richard and Darcy aren't cousins. They couldn't be more different! Just breathe and smile…_

I look over at Darcy again, wearing his ever-present frown.

_Oh, God. Richard said 'boring'._

My heart speeds up a little.

_He said 'nerdy'. _

I scratch my elbow, feeling a little fidgety.

_He said 'anti-social'. _

Not one of those words describes Charlie.

I close my eyes and attempt to keep myself from hyperventilating, hoping this will all just go away.

"Please, please tell me Bingley is your cousin," I beg Richard.

I can't quiet the mantra repeating in my brain: _Please, please, God, make him tell me that Bingley is his cousin. Make him tell me that Bingley is his cousin. I'll never miss church – __ever__ – if you do this for me. Please… please?_

Richard looks at me a little strangely. "Noooo…" He answers hesitantly. "My cuz is the one behind him. You know… Tall, dark and awkward? Oozing social discomfort? That's the guy."

Well, crap.

So much for bargaining with the Supreme Being.

How in the world can Richard – the talkative, outspoken, hilarious guy – be related to gloom and doom Darcy? It's impossible! What have I done to deserve this?! God must really hate me!

And just to make my life even more perfect, Charles and the Merry Band of Gloom start walking towards us. Charles, as always, with a huge smile on his face. I'm starting to think he had some special surgical procedure, because there is no way on earth a person can smile that much.

I begin to take in the rest of the party. There's woman with a hand on Darcy's arm, who clearly thinks everyone in the room is beneath her. Her perfect, surgically enhanced nose is stuck in the air – a match with her made-to-order fake boobs. Red, wavy hair falls gently down her back. The dress she's wearing makes Oscar dresses look off-the-rack.

She's beautiful. Everything about her is purely and utterly perfect.

She must be Darcy's girlfriend.

_I hate her._

My eyes go to where their arms are locked around each other, and then travel up to Darcy's face. He's frowning. Well, Darcy and Redhead Barbie are perfect for each other – both gorgeous and, considering their faces, both miserable.

I shake my head and start laughing. His frown deepens, confused by my laughter.

Yes, Darcy, I'm laughing at you. I'm laughing because it's easier to laugh than to cry.

* * *

Darcy POV

"Why the bloody hell are we going to this party again?" Caroline asks for the 16th time in 13 hours, 36 minutes since Charles told her they were going to a fundraiser.

"Because Jane will be there, and I want you to meet her," Charles says patiently, as we drive toward the party.

_46368… 75025... 121393… 196418… _I close my eyes and try to block out the sound of Caroline's whining. Most of the time, I really appreciate Caroline – she's like a sister to me. But sometimes I wish I had never met her. This is one of those times.

_317811… 514229… 832040…_

"I hope she's not a gold digger, like last one. I swear, Charles, if this girl turns out like the last one, I promise you this will be the last 'angel' of yours I meet," Louisa says, "… and please, in the name of the queen, don't bring her back to your flat!"

_1346269… 2178309…_

I open my eyes.

_My numbers aren't working. I need to try something else._

I take my earphones from my pocket and plug them into my phone. I close my eyes and try to lose myself in the music. My fingers unconsciously tap my knees as if I were actually playing the piano music in my ears.

I think about the many times I would sit Georgiana on my lap (her doll, Olivia, sitting on hers), and let her watch me play. Her blue eyes would shine as she watched the movements of my fingers pressing the keys. I remember so distinctly the sound her sock-covered feet would make as she ran to meet me at the door and beg me to play for her.

But those moments are long gone – and probably long forgotten, on her part. Now, the only thing I have left of those memories is the music I would play for her.

I feel someone's hand on top of mine, stopping my fingers from tapping. I open my eyes, surprised at the intrusion.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asks worriedly.

These are the moments I appreciate Caroline – and why I put up with her dramatics and snobby behavior. She can be annoying and whiney sometimes, but she cares about the people close to her.

I let out a long breath, "Yes, why would you inquire?"

"Well, you started counting as soon as you got in the car," Caroline responds.

"And, then you started with the piano music," Louisa continues.

"And you only do that when something is bothering you," Charles finishes.

"I wasn't counting numbers, I was adding them," annoyed that I have to point out the difference. "The Fibonacci sequence, to be exact," I add, even though I doubt they know what I'm talking about. _Ridiculous, they teach this stuff in the second grade…_

"Does this have to do with Elizabeth?" Charles whispers, looking at his sisters and brother-in-law, making sure they can't hear.

"No, Charles. I'm perfectly fine," I whisper back.

And it's true. I haven't thought about her the whole day. But now that you say it...

"How's your family?" I ask Caroline, trying to distract myself.

"Oh they're just great!" Caroline gushes. "Sophia won her school's pageant and talent show! Such an accomplished girl, my Sophia is! And of course Logan is running for senator again." Caroline continues to tell me about her husband and 10-year-old daughter, but I completely block her out. Caroline can talk for hours and hours about her family. Something I don't mind, since I can just listen and not be a participant in the conversation. I just nod whenever is necessary to make her believe I'm paying attention. I just need the calm that the white noise brings me.

"Oh look, we're here… Yippee…" Louisa says sarcastically, as all five of us get out of the car and head to the ballroom.

It's nice. Nothing as nice as any of the ballrooms I own, but I hardly think anyone could match their beauty, after all.

Charles, of course, the minute he steps into the packed ballroom, immediately starts to look for his blond angel. My eyes look around and land on a couple at the bar. I can only see the woman's back, but she is beautiful. She's wearing a backless white dress, and I can see her toned muscles contract every time she moves. The dress follows her every curve – it looks like it was poured on. Her thick black hair is pulled around over her shoulder, not impeding the glorious view of her back.

While I am appreciating the vision before me, she and her companion turn around and look straight at us.

My heart stops beating. My lungs cease to breathe.

_3524578… 5702887… 9227465… 14930352… 24157817… 39088169… 63245986…_

I can't stop the numbers flying through my mind. I swear, even the earth starts spinning.

In front of me is the reason I agreed to come with Charles tonight. I needed the distraction. I needed to keep my mind from thinking about her.

The goddess in front of me is Elizabeth.

I look at her.

_She is magnificent. _

She and her companion stand up. I pay him no attention because I cannot see past the vision she presents. Her beautiful face, the hair I remember running my fingers through, her body I can almost still feel beneath my hands, her legs that travel for miles before they reach her heels. She was right – she is tall. I don't think I would survive if those legs were any longer.

She is stunning in ways that no other woman could ever hope to be.

I barely remember to breathe. She says something to the man beside her. My whole body boils with anger and jealousy. Her head snaps up looking for something. She smiles and laughs as the man whispers something in her ear. Her eyes still search the crowded room for something. Or someone…?

Then her eyes meet mine.

Our eyes lock for what seems like an eternity. Those deep brown orbs meet mine and the world just stops.

She's shocked… confused… perplexed… As if she's seeing an impossibility turned real.

All this is compacted into a split second, between when I first see her and now, with our eyes locked to each other.

I start to move unconsciously towards her, like it's a gravitational pull and I have no choice. Caroline, Charles and the Hursts follow me.

Twenty-three steps it takes me to get to her. We both stand there, watching each other, feeling like idiots because neither of us knows what to say.

She takes a deep breath, lets it out. Shuffles her feet a little. Left hand pinky finger twirls a lonely strand of hair that has fallen into her beautiful eyes.

"Hello," I say, but no sound escapes my throat. I cannot move. It's as if someone has played a cruel joke on me and has left me glued into this place.

"Willy, dude! We were just talking about you," Elizabeth's companion says to me, taking me into a big embrace. I'm about to shove him off of me when I recognize the voice.

Only one person calls me 'Willy'.

"Richard." I glare at my idiotic cousin. I had completely forgotten I had invited him. I love my cousin, I honestly do, but sometimes his childish behavior drives me mad.

"So… Darcy is your cousin, Richard?" Elizabeth's sweet, honey voice asks.

I could drown in that voice. So soft, so melodic – it soothes me in the same way my piano does.

"Yeah… Wait – how do you know him?" Richard asks, confused.

Elizabeth smiles a smile that could light up this whole country. "Do you really want to know, Fitzwilliam?"

"Hell yeah!" he eagerly responds.

"Well then, prepare yourself for the horrid story. The first time I met your cousin was at a hotdog stand in the park. He had the audacity to call me ugly and accused me, quite loudly, of being a single mother who worked in a grocery store, trying to land myself a rich husband. Oh, and he also called my children bastards, " Elizabeth says with a twinkle in her eyes, teasing me in front of everyone.

My heart falls. Again. She still doesn't remember me. She only remembers me as the rude guy from the hot dog stand and from lunch with Charles.

Richard gasps, "Only a blind man would call you ugly because you, princess, are anything but ugly! What the hell were you thinking, Willy?"

I'm with you in that, dear cousin. A man would be blind to call Elizabeth ugly.

But then my brain registers something he said. Princess? Since when does my cousin know Elizabeth? How long has he known her for? Long enough to get a nickname, apparently

Caroline pipes up in my defense, "Well, if Darcy said it, it must be true. Since he has better taste then all of us here combined." Sycophantic, but at least she's got my back.

"Willy likes men, princess, so don't feel too offended," Richard tells Elizabeth.

Elizabeth laughs at his joke. All I want to do at this moment is to punch my cousin. Jealousy fills me up like poison would fill up a bomb.

_You can't like Elizabeth,_ I tell myself. _She has three children. She's a single mum for god's sake! She is __not__ for you!_

"How do you two know each other?" I ask them suspiciously.

"Oh, me and Lizzy go way back. Right, Liz?" Richard says, wrapping an arm over her shoulder.

I fight back and urge to go punch my cousin. He smirks and gets closer to her. We've known each other for so long he must know that this is bothering me. And of course Richard, being Richard, flirts even more just to provoke me.

Elizabeth rolls her eyes and shrugs his arm from her shoulders, "We met at a bookstore"

So, they didn't meet here at the party. I wonder if Richard knows that Lizzy is my Elizabeth from London.

"Oh! You're the single mom!" Louisa exclaims beside me. "Darcy told us about the little spat you two had at the park."

"Oh, yes! You're Jane's sister – Charles told us you had three children. You have a three year old right?" Caroline says looking at Elizabeth from head to toe. She's probably figuring out how much her outfit cost, already having concluded that it is not a designer label.

"Three?" Richard looks confused and looks over at Elizabeth. She smiles and only I notice as she slyly throws Richard an elbow to the ribs. Richard looks back to the group and says, " Oh, yes… she has a three-year-old. Quite a lovely child, too." He gently cradles his side.

Richard glances back at Elizabeth, and I realize they are hiding something. I've known Richard for far too long to doubt that.

"Oh, you've met her then? What's her name again, Charles? Is it Olma?" Caroline asks.

"Olpa," Charles responds with his ever-present smile.

"Of course I have! All three of them, including Oli- …" he stops in mid name and looks at Elizabeth, "… including Olpa." he finishes.

He was clearly going to say something else. Elizabeth did the same thing when she first told us the name of her daughter. What is it that is not being said? And why is Richard in on it?

"Now, if you don't mind, I have to go to the bathroom," Richard says, whispering something in Elizabeth's ear before he walks off. She just barely nods her head at him and looks at us nervously as Richard walks away..

They are definitely hiding something.

A petite girl comes up to Elizabeth and whispers in her ear.

_What's up with the whispering to Elizabeth tonight?_

Elizabeth just laughs in response and shakes her head. Still looking uncomfortable, her phone chirps and she looks down to read the new text message.

She brings her attention back to the group and announces, "Everyone, this is my little sister Mary." She glances nervously at her phone again, and surreptitiously tries to respond to the text message. "Mary, why don't you go find Jane and Charlotte. They were looking for you."

I look at the girl. So this is Elizabeth's younger sister – the one she used to star gaze with. She has purple hair and she's wearing clothes more appropriate to a funeral. Who in their right mind dyes their hair purple? The girl doesn't even smile or acknowledge our presence; her eyes focused on the wall behind us. There must be something mentally wrong with her, I conclude.

_How can this girl and Elizabeth be related?_

I'm too distracted trying to figure the answer to this question, when I hear a loud gasp. I look up to find a beautiful, tall, blonde woman and a short brunette staring at me with a look of utter disbelief; their mouths open in shock and eyes as wide as saucers.

* * *

Elizabeth POV

At least Richard went along with my lie. If I had known who he was, I would never have told him the names and ages of my children.

"You're going to have to explain this later," Richard whispers as he heads to the bathroom.

I nod my head with a slight movement and look at the rest of the tiny group. Did they hear what he said?

"Do you need an escape route to get out of this? Because I can so act like I'm having an asthma attack," Mary whispers in my ear. I didn't even notice she was behind me. I laugh, loving that my little sis has my back. My phone chirps and I grab it out of my bag and read the new text:

_From: unknown number_

_Time:7:05_

_Ok so I'm impatient. I have ADHD what can I say. WHY THE HELL DID I JUST HAVE TO LIE TO MY COUSIN OUT THERE?_

_-Richard_

What do I say? How do I explain to him that his cousin is the father of my children?

_Simple, Lizzy, you just don't. If you tell him, he will go straight to William and you just can't have that._

Looking back up I say, "Everyone, this is my little sister Mary," hopefully stalling for time. The two women in the group stare at Mary's clothes and hair in horrified wonder, as if their tiny minds can't conjecture how she got into the party. They size her up and clearly find her wanting.

My sister continues to stand there, staring at nothing, as they complete their investigation. Who knows what's going on in Mary's mind?

I quickly look back at my phone and reply to the text:

_To: Unknown number_

_Time: 7:06_

_How did you get my #?_

_-Lizzy_

I press 'SEND' and then it hits me.

Mary is here. Mary is freaking here!

And Darcy is here! Oh. My. God. This is not good.

"Mary, why don't you go find Jane and Charlotte. They were looking for you," I tell her in an effort to get her away from the group. The good thing about Mary is that she pays little attention to the people around her, quite happy in her own little world. If I can get her away, maybe she won't connect the dots.

And just as I'm comfortable thinking I've got a plan and it's all good, I hear a loud gasp. I face the sound and I'm confronted with Charlotte and Jane, standing there with mouths wide open and staring at Darcy.

Darcy.

Damn.

I realize the jig is up. Darcy looks exactly like my children. My 'red herring' description of the children's father or no, they are going to realize he's the father.

What the hell do I do now?!

_Deep breath, Lizzy. Maybe you can save this. Just explain and stick to your story. _

I turn towards the group, and spy a confused Darcy from the corner of my eye.

"I'll just borrow these three for a quick minute." I grab my sisters and Charlotte and lead them to the far end of the bar, hoping to do some fast talking and throw them off the scent.

They immediately attack me with questions:

"What the hell, Lizzy? –"

"He looks exactly like James –"

"Except the freckles –"

"And Olivia –"

"How can he look like your children? –"

"You said William had green eyes. So how can this man look exactly like your children if he's not the father? – "

Jane and Charlotte are talking over each other, both of them asking question after question. My mind feels like it's going to explode. Mary just stands beside them her eyes deep in thought.

"First of all," I say, "I don't know how he can look like them. Like I told you, the triplet's father is American and has green eyes. Darcy is most definitely British and has blue eyes that would never be confused with green."

"Maybe he's a family member?" Jane suggests.

"Brother, father, uncle… cousin, maybe?" Charlotte adds.

"Let's just ask him. See if he has an American cousin or something," Jane suggests to Charlotte completely forgetting that I'm even standing there

"Yeah! Let's do that!" Charlotte responds and takes Jane's arm, leading her back over to Darcy. I run after them, and all I can see is Darcy's frown as they approach.

"Hey, we have a question for you…" Charlotte begins, even before they get in front of him.

_How the hell do I stop this? How the hell do I stop this? _

And then I realize there's no way of stopping what's about to happen. There is no amount of fast talking that will get me out of this. They will figure it out. Darcy will figure it out. None of them are stupid.

"Holy God and all the saints! That restroom… " Richard says as he approaches me from behind, throwing his arm over my shoulder, "… was disgusting! I don't know who went before me but, damn! They have to get their stomach checked. It smelled like a skunk crawled up their ass and died!" he continued, flashing everyone with a huge smile. You could have heard a pin drop.

Charlotte, Jane – even Mary – look even more shocked than before. If that's even possible.

"Oh, hello! Where are my manners?" Richard points to William and says, "I'm Darcy's cousin." More silence. "I promise you, beautiful women, that my mother did teach me some manners. Please forgive me, but I just had to come and inform my cuz of my amazing bathroom discovery, in case he wants to conduct a scientific study in there." Richard's million-dollar smile still beaming.

Jane, Charlotte and Mary still haven't moved. Their mouths still hang open, but nothing comes out, not even a 'hi'. Richard stands there smiling and waiting for them to acknowledge him.

"Sorry… it's just… wow – you look so much like someone we know," Jane finally says, finding some composure. "I'm Jane, Elizabeth's sister… And you are?"

Richard gives her an appreciative gaze. Of course he would. It's Jane-freaking-Bennet. The perfect woman.

"Richard Fitzwilliam, at your service."

Their gasps are drowned out by the sound of Charlotte's dropped champagne glass breaking.

I look at Richard and that's when I see what they see: Green eyes. Black hair. I don't know how I didn't realize it before. The same humor – they even have the same nose! A perfect copy. Richard Fitzwilliam looks exactly like David. With 'Fitzwilliam' for a last name and his Boston accent, he is exactly how I described the fake father of my children.

"W… Wi… William…?" Jane stutters.

They think Richard is William.

Well, damn.

* * *

**A/N: ok so everyone thought the mystery guy was George Wickham except three people. Even my beta thought it was George Wickham so don't feel bad. I hate Wickham so I would never do that to you guys.**

**the Question was actually a contest to see who got it right. The first person who guessed correctly was going to get a sneak preview of when Darcy meets one of the kids for the first time, but the person who got it right was a guest reviewer. So I can't really send it….so I guess I'll have to do another competition for the next chapter.**

**But props to the guest reviewer named Vanessa who got it right! This chapter is dedicated to you!**

**So I have a question would you want shorter chapters or long chapters are ok?**

**But thanks to everyone who reviewed I really appreciate it. I haven't gone to check how many people read my story. So in my mind only the people who follow or review are the people who have read it. So in my mind only 200 people have read it. I should go check that out. Maybe it's been more….**

**So yeah when you review I feel like people actually like it and appreciate it. Because sometimes I just feel like stopping since I'm always busy. But you guys really keep me motivated!**

**Another thing I wanted to add I've only read two stories that involve Lizzy being pregnant, can someone recommend me stories that talk are similar to my story so I can see how they ended it?**

**But thanks so much to everyone again!**

**I love you guys!**

**Los queiro mucho!**

**As always those who review or favorite or follow get free virtual food! This time it's a Big Mac! (You people are gonna think I'm fat by the way I'm always talking about food, but honestly I'm not. My sister is a vegan so there's no good food in the house. Just healthy stuff )**

**Thanks everyone!**

**and again thanks to Julianabr who is the best beta! I give her unreadable stuff and she actually understands it and polishes it. so thanks!**


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